Star Wars Universe
by K.T. Brown
Summary: Over a thousand years after Luke Skywalker defeated Darth Vader and the Empire, the galaxy is now under panic as the ways of the Jedi was lost. What the galaxy doesn't know is that the Jedi Order still remains at a distant galaxy called the Xenex. One man from the streets of Coruscant, Jon Quell, is chosen by the Jedi to take on a threat that will soon lead to a galactic collision
1. Chapter 1

The Jedi Remain

Short Stories of Intense Galactic Adventures & War

Story 1

Bounty Hunter

"You're a bold man for showing up," said a man holding up a C- 19 blaster pistol. "You truly thought you could get away with this didn't you? You know Davon is impatient with his money."

"Well I wasn't going to let you kill me in my sleep," said a man with a shabby beard and rugged clothes. "But you can tell that worthless piece of filth that he can take it from my cold dead body."

He opened his cloak and revealed a P- 12 pistol.

"Well that was the plan in the first place," said the man. "Men, lets blast this scum bag to oblivion."

The group of bounty hunters readied their weapons as the man started to feel droplets of sweat across his shady hair and face. His heart started racing feeling his life closing at an end.

"Freeze none of you move!" barked a man of law enforcement.

He was in white uniforms wearing masks to cover his face.

The group of bounty hunters fled from the scene, leaving the man abandoned.

"You, stay where you at, you're under arrest by the Coruscant Law Enforcement."

"What are you talking about you saw those guys trying to kill me?"

"Yeah but you was involved in illegal activity."

"This must be some mistake, I didn't do anything wrong."

"You're talking back to me? I know what filth like you is up to and apparently you did something to upset those guys."

"I'm trying to tell you…"

"You're coming with me."

The patrol troop sauntered towards the man with a pair of cuffs. The man immediately punched the troop nearly knocking his helmet off.

"Yeah I'm filth alright," he said as he took off.

"I'm gonna need back up," said the fallen troop.

"What's the situation?" said the officer on the comm.

"I have a runaway heading to the quarters."

"We're right on it."

The man took off running, looking for a place to hide. Airspeeders raced above him as he began to panic. He ran throughout the streets dodging land speeders and civilians. Behind him he heard sirens ringing with the sounds of trouble as he ventured to a back alley. He hid with his hands on the walls checking to see if authority was at his throat. His heart thumped as he steadily took baby steps to get to the other side of the quarters. His heart raced even faster and couldn't control his emotions as he took off for the other side.

He heard in the background, "That's him, don't move!" He raced towards the bridge for the entertainment module. He saw a night club and entered to blend in the crowd. He looked at his surroundings and saw a full crowd of people dancing on the floor. Some were at the bar while beautiful twilek women were dancing in the cages upstairs.

"_This oughta hold em," _he said to himself. He entered deep within the club feeling relief with thoughts of getting him a drink to calm his nerves. The bar was near the entrance so it would be a foolish move. The only way to avoid authority was to blend in the crowd.

The man saw a couple of troopers interrogating the bar tender. The bar tender pointed at his direction as he began to shove people out the way. The troops followed his trail as he desperately rushed through the floor. He bumped into an alien as it gnarled at him with disgust.

"Oh… sorry pal," he said as he desperately took off again. He thought of the only way to escape is to sneak his way out the club. The man forced his way back to the entrance taking another route. He crouched down, hoping no one could see him as he made his way back to the bar. The man snatched a drink from a drunken guy who had a little too much to drink. He quickly fled out the club with a few more troops on his trail. He ran as fast as he could to avoid authority but was eventually caught with a stun ray. The ray paralyzed him from the head and down as he collapsed to the pavement. His vision started to get blurry only hearing slight sounds of sirens and troops taunting.

"He should have stayed in the night club," a troop began to taunt. "Maybe he wouldn't have gotten caught." The man heard the troops laugh and faded away into a deep slumber.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a room. The man was suspicious knowing this room isn't the cell block where he belonged. Questions ran through his mind. Is he now a slave? Is he now in some type of community service? What was going on?

"Ah you're finally awake," said a man stepping through the door.

"Uh… I feel like a drunken rancor," said the shabby man getting up from the bed.

"Don't get up too quickly son you were out for some time."

"Where am I and who the hell are you?"

"My name is Allan Ferd and I'm a priest."

"Oh yeah, a priest of what?"

"The force son."

"So you're supposed to be some kind of Jedi?

"There are none left I'm afraid."

"Well I know that but why you say that you're a priest of the force?"

"Because I believe you can still let the force guide you without a weapon. People now these days are afraid of the force because the dark side may take over the galaxy once again."

"The dark side?"

"Yes, the dark side of the force. It is terrible power wielded by a group of dark siders called the Sith."

"I've heard the history of the Sith. I say good riddance to all the Jedi. Brings less stress in the galaxy."

"Everybody is force sensitive, and I sense the force is strong with you. What's your name?"

"Jon Quelle."

"Jon, just know that you're safe with me."

"But how did I get here? Authorities held me captive."

"I've seen you get taken away by the officers. You were out of it. I figured that I could free you in a matter of days if I could talk with the authorities."

"Wait, how long was I out of it?"

"At least three days now."  
"Dammit three days?"

"Yeah once I freed you, I had help to drag you on this bed you're sitting on now."  
"Isn't that something? How you got me out?"

"Easy, diplomatic tactics."

"Sounds reasonable."

"Listen, my wife has fixed supper, I was wondering if you could join us."  
"I guess I'll be delighted."

"Just join us when you get ready."

Jon Quelle, the native of the Republic Capital Planet of Coruscant has hustled all his life. His parents were friends and associates for Ubba the Hut before the time he was born. They eventually were killed by bounty hunters for owing him money leaving Jon on his own in the rough streets of Coruscant. Jon hustled in the streets trying to make a living and eventually associated with Crime Lord Davon Mesh trading weapons and cash for four years. Eventually Jon stopped paying his debt, selling the weapons for himself leaving Davon empty-handed. Davon became furious and had set a bounty on Jon's head. With all the trials in his life, Jon cared less of the bounty on his head and walked boldly in the streets. Now with the crime syndicate on the hunt and the authorities stalking him, he feels as if he took the biggest risk of his life.

On his way to dinner, Jon roamed around the halls of Allan's Condo. He peaked through each room, checking to see where he could find Allan and his wife. He checked one room and found a shelf of Jedi holocrons. Amazed by the site, Jon saw all the ancient Jedi artifacts that was locked in one room. Just thinking all the holocrons were at the museum, there is actually a private collector. He reached to grab a holocron and found information on ancient Jedi archives.

"Wow this is something," he said.

"Can I help you?" said a droid behind him.

"Yeah I'm looking for Allan, have you seen him?"

"Yeah he's waiting for you in the diner hall. You're not allowed in the artifact chamber. Explain your business."

"I was just making my way to the diner hall, I stopped here by mistake."

"The diner hall is down the hall to your right. You surely can't miss it."

"Then I will make my way."

Somewhere on the wealthy parts of Coruscant lied Davon's Retreat where the search of Jon continued.

"What do you mean he's out of jail?" said Davon. "How you've learned this?"

"We had word from the authorities that a priest has bribed them with 200 credits," said a bounty hunter.

"Really, where does he live?"

"We're not sure, I believe he stays close to the quarters."

"Then let's find our victim."

At the diner hall, dinner sat at the table with Allan and his wife sitting.

"Hello, you must be Jon, it's finally nice to meet you."

"Yeah hello, I thank you for your hospitality."

"It's no problem, I'm Sara."

"It's a pleasure."

"Please come and join us, we would be quite honored."

"It would be an honor."

Jon sat and joined as the droid passed the rest of the food.

"So tell me about yourself Jon," Sara continued. "Are you a loner? I don't mean to offend."

"It's okay because I am. All my life I had to defend myself, growing up around thugs and crime lords. I feel the only way to survive in the galaxy is to look after yourself, trust nobody."

Allan and Sara looked at each other with worry and focused their attention back to Jon.

"That's an interesting story Jon," said Allan. "And I truly see something in you. The moment I saw you getting captured by authorities, I saw the force channeling within you to guide you through your destination."

"Listen I truly appreciate your hospitality but I'm not interested in your force and I doubt I ever will be."

"You haven't given me the time to speak son."

"I don't want to hear you preach. I need answers and I'm afraid your preaching of 'the force' won't help me."

"Son you have to be patient…"

"I don't want to hear it, I thank you for bailing me out with good hospitality but I must make my departure."

Jon gave his thanks towards the married couple and made his way out the condo.

As the evening sky sauntered throughout the sky, Jon sat on a bench with thoughts of frustration. He thought of the death of his parents, Davon's syndicate, including Allan's speech about the force. It all caught up to him as he dropped his head and began rubbing his hair back and forth. A woman of beautiful, silky light skin, long black hair with a white custom robe approached him and sat next to him as he looked in bewilderment.

"Why hello sweet heart," he said flirtatious. "Where were you earlier? I could've been in your presence."

"Well I am now," she said calmly with little signs of emotion. "And you seem like you've seen better days."

"So what's your name?"

"The name is Catome and you must be Jon."

"Yeah that's my name and how you know? You must have stalked me from a distance. It's good once in a while for a good-looking woman like you to chase after a guy like me."

"That's the issue I'm afraid."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I am on a mission you see. I'm looking for the man chosen to save a galaxy, and I believe that is you."

"Mission, what mission?"

"I am a member of the Jedi Council in the Xenex Galaxy."

Jon started to cackle, amused by the woman's words.

"A Jedi? Woman you are delusional, and what in the hell is a Xenex Galaxy?"

The woman became offended by the man's outbursts but controlled her feelings trying not to show it.

"Jon this is a serious matter, our galaxy is in jeopardy by the Dark Kingdom and if we fall then soon this galaxy will fall."

"Listen woman I don't have time for this. I have my own problems and I don't have time to play swordsman with some crazy woman in the streets, so if you can just please leave me in peace."

"Fine by me. If you will not believe then you are at fault. I will not force you to come with me, but if you let the force channel within you, you will find your way. Have a good evening Jon."

The woman ventured on down the street leaving Jon alone with thoughts twice as much as last time.

Back at the condo, Allan sat at the den with his wife Sara, drinking shots of ale.

"I just don't understand," he said. "That boy is just so strong in the force but he's wasting his effort. He wouldn't even nudge to hear my mythology of the force."

"You out of everybody should know it's not easy to win souls," said Sara. "You just can't give up on the boy."

"I'm not giving up on him. I know that boy is one day going to heal the galaxy and take my place as priest."

"Then what's the point in complaining Allan. You are a good man and you will win a lot of souls. I promise you, you will. Have faith my dear, the galaxy must be healed."

"Yeah you're right love, I'll pray for Jon and hopefully he'll find his calling."

"He will dear, he will."

"Master Allan, you have visitors at your door," said the droid.

"What is this?" said Sara. "I don't remember company coming over this evening."

"There's a disturbance in the force," said Allan. "Stay here, I'll see what's going on."

"Allan it could be a trap."

"I'll be fine stay here."

"No Allan stay here where it's safe, don't be bold."

It was too late as Allan went to the front entrance. He heard a blaster sound as sparks splattering throughout the area. He steadily made his way to the front and found Davon and his crew at the door.

"Can I help you," said Allan.

"I'm looking for Jon Quelle, have you seen him?" asked Davon.

"He left hours ago, who are you?"

"No one questions Davon Thet like that understood?" growled a bounty hunter jacking Allan up.

"Let him go Isis he's not worth the time," said Davon.

"I don't know who you guys are but you need to leave," Allan commanded.

"Really, someone haves the audacity to demand me over something? You must don't know who I am do you."

"Actually I don't, and I will let the authorities hear from this."

"Foolish old man I run the authorities, and this entire city. No one from the entire core worlds can stop me. Now tell me where Quelle is or you and your wife will suffer."

"You keep my wife out of this!"

"Or what?"

"That's it, I'm calling authorities."

The group of bounty hunters surrounded Allan as he had no place to go. Davon signaled one of his men to hit him. The bounty hunter punched him in the nose, as the rest of them followed behind. They held Allan up as blood dripped from his nose. Sara stepped in the room with astonishment.

Davon pulled out a knife and held it up to Allan's face. "Now you will tell me where Jon Quelle is or I will carve the flesh out your bones."

"Leave him alone!" shrieked Sara.

"Tell me now old man. Where is he? I'm getting very impatient now."

"Killing me hear will not give you victory," said Allan.

"Fine by me, men turn him to his wife."

The bounty hunters turned him around as he grazed in the eyes of his wife. She looked back wailing in tears.

"Men blast her!"

The bounty hunters gave into Davon's command and shot Allan's wife to her death.

"Now tell me where Jon is or you will join your wife."

Allan burst out to tears and yelled from the top of his lungs. "I don't know where he is! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Because you picked up the wrong guy at the wrong time. Now it has cost you your life. It's been a while since I killed a man, I'm going to enjoy this."

Davon held the knife in his hand and was ready to strike as Allan screamed with signs of fear.

In the streets, Jon thought of the words Catome said to him and wondered if her words were true. He had to figure out something, so he raced to get back to Allan's Condo.

Once he got there, he saw a fleet of land speeders at the front entrance. He knew something wasn't right, so he rushed to the door. When he entered, he found Allan and Sara's body leaking with blood. Davon entered the room, amused to see Jon's presence.

"Hello Jon," he said. "So we meet again."

"What have you done?" said Jon.

"Their lives are less important at this point. Now where is the money you owe me?"

"I said I'll include it in next month's payment."

"Liar! You are a damn lie. You promised me to ship those weapons to Nar Shadaa, and you decided to keep the salary yourself. I knew I shouldn't have trusted scum like you."

"Dammit Davon I was desperate!"

"Wrong answer! Your life is mine."

He held the same knife he killed Allan and charged at Jon. Jon managed to catch his grip and punched him hard to the floor as the knife slid across the floor.

"Go ahead Jon kill me if you have the guts."

Jon hesitated but what was the use since he had no weapons to kill him with.

"Yeah that's right you are weak just like your parents were."

A nerve struck as Jon clenched his fist.

The team of bounty hunters stormed in the room. They saw their leader down with a busted lip.

"Men fire when ready," Davon said.

"Actually he's not alone in this one," said Catome.

"And who the hell are you?"

"I'm your worst enemy, now let him go or I will cut you by force with my blade."

The men cackled in amusement. There was just no way Davon would take her seriously.

"Kill them both!" he commanded.

The men immediately opened fire at the two. Catome sprung into action with her glowing green blade igniting as she deflected each blaster shot and cut down the entire group without being touched. Amazed and relieved that she saved his life, Jon stood tall against the crime lord. Davon became frustrated, getting up from the ground with his knife gripped in his fist.

"Damn you both, I'll see you die."

"Give it up Davon you cannot win," said Catome.

"I'd rather die than to surrender from the likes of you."

Davon charged to strike at Catome but she stared into his eyes as he stumbled and passed out dropping the knife. He then fell into a deep cold slumber.

"Wow that was amazing you truly are a Jedi," said Jon.

"I have abilities of the force," said Catome. "But soon you will gain the same attributes as mine, twice as greater."

"I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm in."

"Then come with me and let the priest and his wife rest peacefully while authorities take care of our friend here."


	2. Chapter 2

Story 2

The Council

Night rose above Coruscant's surface as Catome guided Jon to their destination point. Jon was clueless, wondering where this Jedi was taking him.

"Where exactly are we going?" said Jon.

"We are heading towards our destination," said Catome.

"And where is that?"

"Once you learn patience you will soon find out."

"Here we go with more Jedi talk. Can I at least get a hint?"

Catome sighed and took a deep breath.

"We are leaving Coruscant."

"Wow already? I need to get packing."

"Trust me you don't need your things where we're headed."

"Damn, you Jedi are savages."

"Not savages, but keepers of the peace."

"The hell that's supposed to… never mind. You Jedi are too predictable."

Catome continued walking forward as Jon followed behind her.

_We got a lot of work to do_, she thought to herself.

In the abandoned section of the city, Catome led Jon to a small shuttle.

"Wow, that's your ship?" asked Jon. "I don't think it's big enough to fit us both. I think I'll just make my way back home and forget this ever happened."

"Don't be a fool," said Catome. "You think I would travel this far just being fascinated by your force sensitivity? For your information this shuttle fits for two passengers."

"Sounds intriguing, especially for the two of us."

"Don't get too pushy. I'm only here to take you to the council."

"Then let us leave."

The two entered the small shuttle ready for launch. In a matter of seconds they were off to reach the unknown reaches of space. When the shuttle left out of Coruscant's atmosphere, Catome set the shuttle to light speed.

As soon as the ship left light speed, the shuttle reached to an unknown sector. Below them was a vast like galaxy full of dust and bright stars.

"What is that?" said Jon in amazement.

"Below us is the Xenex Galaxy," said Catome.

"Wow I've never flown to another galaxy before. Hell, I've never been to the outer rim in my galaxy."

"Well you're here."

"What planet is your Jedi Council located anyways?"

"New Hahira."

"What type of planet is that?"

"It's very peaceful, full of streams and grasslands. A nice place for a Jedi to meditate."

"Are there any creatures to set an eye on? You know even the most peaceful planets have dangerous wild animals."

"Nothing but the haridan lions in the wild lands, but you will be safe with the council."

"Well that's good to hear. What is the purpose of bringing me here anyways?"

"The Jedi are in great danger."

"Danger of what the Sith?"

"Far worse."

"Okay now you're scaring me. What enemies are you exactly talking about?"

"We are dealing with the Dark Kingdom."

"The Dark Kingdom, sounds like magicians to me."

"They are a group of Sith Lords led by the Empress. To give you some history we have fought the Dark Kingdom for thousands of years both physically and spiritually."

"Wow you guys sure love to battle."

"The Jedi has existed here since the fall of the last Sith Emperor of the Old Republic era. Before Jedi trained here, our people of this galaxy used to believe in the magic of the Sun Gods although force sensitive. It wasn't until the Jedi came to spread their teaching from their galaxy. Of course that was hundreds of years before the start of the Great Galactic War."

"Man that's something huh? How did the Dark kingdom come to affect?"

"Well the Jedi doesn't believe in love which led to temptation of our belief. It was only a century later after the first Jedi settled in our galaxy, the Jedi teamed up with the X-Republic to take out their nemesis, vicious monsters called the Fleshians. Two Jedi knights, a man and a woman shared a bond which led them to love. They were powerful Jedi, but like all, the dark side of the force tempted them. They kept their love for each other from the Jedi but was eventually caught by the council which led to their exile."

"So after their exile they turned to the dark side?"

"A year after their exile they led an armada so powerful, it took a decade to stop them. That became the first Jedi Civil War of our galaxy. For the last 16 years, they secretly raised eight children to become powerful Sith Lords. After the birth of the eighth child, the couple became power-hungry and turned on each other. The husband killed his wife and continued to train his children until they grew up to become men. The father knew his days were soon to be outnumbered as Emperor knowing that either the Jedi or even X-Republic assassins would kill him. He even figured that his own allies would get the best of him. He then created a ceremony grouping his eight children in an octagon surrounding him for a sacrifice."

Jon was in disgust but Catome continued with her story.

"Surprisingly he chose his second child to sacrifice him, and so he did. The first emperor died with his second born child leading the armada as new Sith Emperor. This tradition continued throughout history and is still going on to this day. The council has managed to take the eighth child and raised her to become a Jedi. We cannot afford to let the Empress make a sacrifice. The council believes the Jedi will soon be wiped out with not only our galaxy but the universe."

"So where do I come in?"

"You will help us stop the Sith from corruption. The X-Republic have been neutral since the end of the Xenex War which was hundreds of years ago. The Fleshians are with no one but their selves. Jon you are very strong in the force. Can I allow you to help the Jedi Order in their desperate hour?"

"If the universe is in trouble then you can count on me."

"Then I will give you my gratitude."

With Jon's agreement to help the Jedi, Catome flew the ship down towards the galaxy. With no time to spare they took off for New Hahira.

The shuttle finally reached the surface of the inhabited planet. They soared across the beautiful surface full of tall grass and hills, with rivers flowing remarkably with grace. The shuttle landed smoothly on the Enclave up on one of the hills. When Catome and Jon made their way out of the shuttle, a group of Jedi stood as if they were waiting for them for a long period.

"Catome I'm glad you came back in one piece," said a woman of tan skin hugging her.

"It's good being back too Janice," said Catome.

"So you found him?" said a alien one with the looks of a pig.

"This is the man we've been searching," said Catome, I'd like for you guys to meet Jon Quelle."

Jon climbed out of the shuttle waving.

"He looks a little rugged," said another Jedi with an aged look.

"Tartan you should know better than to judge a man by his looks," said Catome. "You can feel the force flowing through this man."

"We know Catome," said Janice. "With enough training he will become a powerful Jedi."

"The question is who's going to train him?" said Tartan.

"Everybody knows the elders decide in the Temple of Knowledge," said Catome.

"Wait I thought the apprentice decides on who their master is," said Jon in disbelief.

"You're right Catome," said Tartan. "Well Jon I believe the elders are awaiting. This is no place for the council to discuss Jedi affairs. Let us head to the sub levels of the enclave for further discussion."

The pack of Jedi went their way leaving Jon confused. He grasped Catome's shoulders and shoved her towards him trying to figure out his goal of what the Jedi needs from him.

"You guys are just going to leave me here in confusion?" he said beleaguered in frustration. "Where the hell am I supposed to go?"

"The first lesson for a Jedi is to first sprout like a flower before guidance," she said.

"Why the hell you Jedi make the most simplest stuff complicated?"

"Jon listen to me. Before you will be able to train, you must learn to search your feelings. Find your core, and there you will get the answers you seek."

"There are so many buildings here. How am I suppose to know which one is the Temple of Knowledge?"

"It's quite simple."

"Well why don't you tell me then."

"Just ask around."

Catome walked off to join the council as Jon widened his eyes in a shocking state.

Jon searched high and low seeking out the temple. He saw Jedi walking across the enclave in leisure walks. Some were training and meditating. He didn't bother to ask anyone about the temple. He finally spotted a heavy-set Jedi with stubby legs sitting on a bench with his eyes closed as if he was meditating.

"Excuse me," said Jon. "Can you tell me where the Temple of Knowledge located?"

The Jedi said nothing as if he didn't hear one word Jon had said.

"Hey I asked a question. Do you know anything about the Temple of Knowledge? Where is it located?"

Still the Jedi ignored his question having Jon frustrated in agony.

"Dammit you fat blob, can you tell me where I can find the Temple of Knowledge?"

"In order to find what you seek, you must show patience," said the Jedi.

"Why the hell are you Jedi playing with my emotions! Dammit just forget about it!"

Jon stormed off enraged trying to figure out where the location of the temple was. He searched the section of the enclave and thought of what Catome said to him. He decided to let his anger go and find his center to the point where he sauntered through a path he couldn't figure out. He wondered where is he going with this? Is the force guiding him? All he knew was he was walking without thought. He finally saw a temple nearly at the edge of the enclave. He decided to step forth into the temple with confidence of finding the elders there.

In the temple, he saw large halls from his left and right and double doors in front of him. He decided to walk forth through the double doors and found a huge dark room with candles lit. In the room was an entire section of Jedi. This was the elders Jon was seeking this whole time.

"Who is this who enters our sanctuary?" said a very elderly Jedi.

"Jon, Jon Quell master Jedi. Is this the Temple of Knowledge?"

"This is the temple full of archives of our history yes. What is it you seek? Are you here for knowledge or to seek something of personal gain?"

"I'm here to seek out guidance from the elders."

"Is it guidance you seek?" said another elderly Jedi. "You are no Jedi but the force is strong with you. What guidance is there you seek from the elders?"

"I was sent by the Jedi Council to see ya'll here in this temple. I want to know who will train me to use the force?"

"Learn the ways of the force you say," said another elderly Jedi. "Maybe you could use a bath."

"Or maybe a shave," said a elderly Jedi woman.

"Okay I get it. I must be clean to be a Jedi. Just stop mocking me."

"In the ways of the Jedi you must learn that physical appearance does not matter. Looks cannot set a world to justice. There is no ignorance in the ways of the Jedi. You have potential to become a very powerful Jedi. But the dark side of the force can make any man vulnerable if they don't conquer the darkness within them."

"That is your first step apprentice," said one of the elderly Jedi.

"He is too old for the training," the other elderly Jedi said, "He may endanger us all."

"I disagree. That is the rule the Jedi held in the Old Republic era. It is never too late for a man to learn the ways of the force no matter how old they are. Even the youngest student can oppose being the biggest threat to us all."

"So does this mean I get the training?" said Jon.

"You will apprentice, in time. A Jedi must show patience. You look like a man who lives the fast life. You must meditate daily, study, and practice your form. If you do these things, you will become less vulnerable to the dark side."

"You are the one chosen to help save the universe." said the elderly woman, "We don't mean to pressure you, but you must learn the ways of the force and quickly if we are to survive."

"I will do what the council bids me of doing," said Jon.

"Showing humbleness, I'm impressed. Learn the ways of the force and in due time it will guide you as well as it guided you here."

"Now as for your master, said one of the elderly Jedi, "The council has told you we will assign a master for you. However as they should know we don't assign masters for you."

"Then I will train myself?" wondered Jon.

"No, you will train under the person who your heart dwells in the most."

Jon took a quick second to think of who he felt more comfortable giving his training. His eyes opened wide and felt the one person that could help him.

"Catome," he said in a whispering voice.

"Master Catome will be the one that will train you to use the force," said the elder.

"Then I will be on my way then master Jedi," said Jon.

"One reminder young apprentice. The trials will get difficult and the Sith will seek out to destroy you in all sorts of ways. Heed our warning young apprentice and may the force be with you."

Jon gave a bow to the elders and walked out the temple with much to gain and a bit of time on his side. He knew he had to learn the ways of the force quick if he was going to destroy the Sith.

A few kilometers away from the Hahiran System roamed a small vessel in the outreach of space. In the vessel was a man in a black armored suit with a tunic around his neck. He had white skin with red eyes. The man clicked on his comm and contacted a woman with long black hair. She had the looks of pure evil.

"I am near the Hahiran system your highness," he said, "I will follow the task."

"Excellent," she said. "I can care less of the Jedi's lives there. I want those archives."

"It will be done your highness."

"Don't let me down Lord Serreno. If you do, you better let the Jedi take you before I get the grasp to."

"I will capture the archives, and this time the Jedi won't get in my way."


	3. Chapter 3

Story 3

Infiltration

"You must concentrate Jon," said Catome. She sat on the bed watching her new apprentice. "Feel the force within and levitate."

It has been a week since Jon accepted Catome as his master. She showed him the ways of the Jedi by teaching. Apparently in this case, Jon wasn't ready for this kind of training.

Jon sat on the floor legs crossed with his eyes closed. He concentrated on the tablet that was in front of him on the floor.

His appearance was less rugged and more classy. His hair was now pony tailed and his beard shaved. He was now wearing a custom Jedi apprentice robe made by the elders of the temple.

Catome studied him closely hoping he could use his force abilities to lift the tablet from the floor. However, it seemed Jon needed more training. A girl that appeared in her mid teens made her entrance with a lot of concern.

"Master have you called?" she asked Catome.

"Yes Elissa I need for you to do me a favor."

"What do you wish for me?"

"I want you to show my new apprentice Jon a little thing or two about combat."

"Are you sure? He appears lost."

"Never underestimate an opponent my young padawan. Now get ready. Jon is probably hearing our whole entire conversation anyways."

"Yes master."

Elissa stepped further into the room staring at Jon taking deep breaths.

"Okay Jon enough," commanded Catome.

Jon ceased his training and looked at Elissa in a confused state.

"Who is she?" he asked.

"This is my young Padawan Elissa," said Catome, "She has trained under me since she was a little girl and is growing each day in the force."

"Hello," he said with a grumpy sound.

"Pleased to meet you Jon," said Elissa.

"Elissa here will be your sparring partner for your next training session."

"You mean I get to fight with those light swords?" said Jon.

"They're called lightsabers Jon," said Catome. "And yes you will be sparring with them."

"Well how am I supposed to train with these lightsabers and I wasn't even provided with one?"

"Use this one," said Catome throwing the saber to him. "This belonged to my mother before she left the order."

Jon caught the lightsaber, wondering how he could turn it on as he twirled it in his hands examining it. Suddenly the lightsaber turned on and he jumped in shock. He stared at Elissa as she cut her lightsaber on focusing on her attacker standing in front of her.

"Remember Jon you have to feel the force flowing within you," said Catome.

Jon took a deep breath and charged at Elissa. She defended herself as Jon tried his best to use a perfect form. Their sabers clanged together with tension running high. Jon started to feel bullets of sweat pumping on his forehead. Elissa closed her eyes and clenched her light saber ready to use offense. She started swinging and twirling her blade knocking Jon off-balance. Jon tried his best to defend Elisa's attack but she managed to cut a small wound on his arm. Jon grunted and fell on his knees as Elisa pointed her lightsaber towards him.

"Elissa enough!" commanded Catome. "How many times have I told you not to give in to your arrogance?"

"Numerous master," she said turning off her saber. "But how can you rely on a guy who can't even use a simple technique to lift a tablet? And how long has he been training?"

"Thanks for the insult sister," said Jon holding his arm.

"Elissa let go!" commanded Catome.

"Fine, I'm sorry master."

Elisa stormed out of the room leaving Jon on his knees wounded and Catome in worry.

"What was that about?" said Jon.

"I'm concerned about my apprentice," said Catome, "Elissa was always willing, but she needs to learn patience. I have a next task for you."

"Dammit woman you see I'm…" Jon paused controlling his anger. "Forgive me master, for I have a flesh wound."

"That wound will heal. As a matter of fact come to me."

"What?"

"Come, let me see your arm."

"You're not going to do anything crazy are you?"

"Jon trust me."

Jon got up to his feet and slowly walked towards Catome. She took a hold of his arm and waved two fingers across his wound. Jon's cut healed rapidly. He was amazement of the outcome.

"How did you do that?" he wondered in astonishment. "You didn't use bacta or any chemicals to heal my wound. Even a medical droid couldn't heal this fast."

"It's an old force technique used by the ancient Jedi to heal mortal wounds. I could teach you, but you must learn the basics before you can master the healing technique. Your next task is to get to know your new companion, Elissa."

"Her? But master you saw what she did to me."

"Although Elissa is still a padawan, she still has an importance for this mission."

"Alright fine, but I'm only doing this for you, not her."

Jon walked casually out the room leaving Catome in a worried state. All she could hope for was that her two apprentices could get along.

_It looks like Elisa isn't the only one I have to worry about,_ she thought to herself. _I sure hope the council is right about the prophecy._

Outside the planet of New Hahira, Serreno's ship floated towards the nearby moon which inhabited life. He hid the ship under the depths of a forest in the moon's surface so the Jedi wouldn't feel his presence. On his wrist, he pressed a button that flashed a quick second. In a matter of time, a fleet of bulky droids flew among the moon's surface, lining up one by one in a straight line towards his direction. The fleet of droids were like an army as the stood in rows of lines hearing what their commander had to say.

"Listen, and listen to my command carefully," said Serreno hopping out of his shuttle. "The Jedi are in my way of my mission. I want you to annihilate each of them."

"Yes master," said the droids in one sound.

In the brink of dusk, Jon caught Elissa sitting on the hilltops of the enclave staring at the sky. He sauntered uphill, taking his time. He wondered if she would even listen to anything he had to say. He stopped when he was just a foot away from her.

"Are you okay?" Jon asked.

Elissa sighed and turned around.

"Listen the only reason I struck you like that is because I was jealous," she admitted. "I just can't believe I trained this whole time mastering force techniques and they let some bimbo come along claiming that he's chosen to destroy the Dark Empire."

"First of all I'm not a bimbo. And do you actually think I asked for this? Hell, I'd rather had stayed in the streets than this. The only reason I'm committed to this is because the universe is in jeopardy. I don't care about being the strongest Jedi in the universe, you can be that Elissa. I just want to do what I do best, and that's getting by. When this whole thing is over with, I'll probably head back to Coruscant and everything will be back to normal."

"Well for that I apologize. I shouldn't have been jealous towards you. My master warned me about pride and jealousy, and how it leads to the dark side. I wish you luck on your training."

"Thanks," said Jon.

Elissa strolled back downhill leaving him alone.

In the plains, giant meteors made crash landings causing small craters among the tranquil surface. The startled creatures on the plains ran away herd by herd. The bulky droids appeared from craters looking to complete their aim of killing the Jedi.

One of the droids used its' sensors to track down other life forms. It picked up a signal far away north and gave a command to infiltrate the area. The droids used stealth to make their selves invisible. They fled, heading towards the enclave in readiness.

"There's a disturbance in the force," said Catome. "I must call a meeting with the council immediately."

Elissa sauntered through the enclave getting ready for rest. A boy about her age caught up to her with a warm greeting.

"Hey Winthro," she said. "Anything you need?"

"Yeah I heard about your new companion."

"Don't start with me Winthro, I had a long day."

"No I'm not trying to startle you or nothing."

"Then why you brought that up?"

"Everyone else is talking about it. I just wanted to see for myself."

"Well yes I now have a companion is that all?"

"You seemed startled about something. Are you okay?"

Elissa stared at him as if he did something to cause harm to her.

"I'm okay, I just want to be left alone."

Elisa stormed off as Winthro stared at her with troubles for her.

"I'm your friend Elisa, not a hostile!" he yelled in a tranquil state.

Uphill on the enclave, Jon continued to stand still meditating with multiple thoughts running through him.

_Is this truly my calling?_ he thought to himself. _Am I truly destined for this? I'm just a low life and these people, they're so skilled. I couldn't possibly use this ability against foes so powerful._

Jon suddenly felt something run through him, like chills up his spine.

_That's weird I thought I felt something hit me. Must have been the wind or something. Although something doesn't feel right, I'll talk with Master Catome about this._

Jon walked off to find his master trying to figure out his calling of destiny.

At the council chambers, Catome sauntered in and found the Jedi Council sitting in their chairs waiting patiently for answers.

"I'm glad you all came in with such short notice," said Catome.

"We're here now what's this meeting all about Catome," said Tartan.

"I'm sure you all have felt a disturbance in the force. I believe the enemy has found us."

"I felt this disturbance as well," said Janice, "The creatures in the plains are startled."

"The Sith would be foolish to come and invade the heart of the Jedi Order," said Tartan.

"Well they have," said Catome, "And they're after something."

"I sense it too," said the pig look alike alien. "I suppose we need to go see the elders for a final plot to stop this threat."

"Good idea Neuss," said Catome, "We better act quickly."

Elissa laid on her bed with many thoughts on her mindset. She thought of her training and her master training a man who was apparently too old to become a Jedi. She decided to clear her mind and meditate on the force.

Jon sauntered through the academy trying to figure out why this weird feeling was tingling him inside? Maybe it was this day he was having. Although he felt lost, he somehow felt as if something wasn't right. Jon saw a nearby bench and took a seat, meditating on the force.

The Jedi masters made their way into the Elder Temple of the Jedi Order. Inside the room, the elders yet stood still in one spot as if they expected them to come.

"Grand Master Quran," said Catome, "On behalf of the Council, we seek your wisdom on how we can stop our enemies from this invasion?"

"Master Catome," said Quran rubbing his beard. "You should already know the answer."

"But what must we do master? I sense their presence drawing near."

"There will be no stopping them, many Jedi will die this day."

"But master, how can you say such a thing?"

"Search your feelings Catome, the Sith has deceived us all. They will have the advantage."

"Besides," said the woman elder. "Even if the Sith will stop us today, their evil cannot match the light. The Jedi are going through a trial, that's why your apprentice will be our salvation."

"Can we at least investigate in the plains?" asked Janice.

"It's completely up to you," said Quran.

"Then we will investigate this invasion at once," said Catome.

The Jedi left the elders to their meditation for an investigation about the invasion.

"It is only a matter of time," said Quran.

"Yes, I am ready," said another elder. "Although I still fear in flesh."

"Let the force be your strength."

Elissa sauntered through the academy with tremendous worry. Just when she thought she had enough problems, a group of padawans and younglings came up to her with an insult of her new companion.

"Hey Elissa," said a young man with the looks of a late teen. "I heard of your new companion the drunk."

The kids started laughing, startling Elissa. Her anger slowly started to flare.

"Just leave me alone San," she said.

"What's wrong Elissa?" mocked a girl. "The drunk got the best of you."

"Leave… me … alone."

"So where is he by the way?" asked San. "I bet if there were a bar here, he would be the first one there."

"Dammit San, leave me alone!"

"Or what, you're going to get your drunken friend to aid you."

"Leave her alone," said Winthro.

"Look at this guys, another supporter of the drunk. And what you're going to do about it Winthro?"

Winthro balled his right fist with a temptation to swing.

"C'mon Winthro," said San. "Make a move."

"Don't do it Winthro," said Elissa. "Let's just leave these jerks."

Winthro was hesitant, flaring with anger trying his best to control his emotions. But thinking of the Jedi code, he eased himself and took a deep breath. A Jedi knight walked towards the group in curiosity.

"What are you guys doing?" he questioned. "I sensed your tension from the other side of the hallway."

The kids shrugged their shoulders and said nothing. The Jedi knight looked at them in curiosity.

"You younglings just move along and do not startle your fellow JedI in the future."

"Yes Mater Cora," said the younglings.

"Now ya'll just move along."

The group walked about their business leaving Elisa and Winthro to their selves along with Cora.

"Elissa you're okay?" he asked.

"I tried to talk to her earlier," said Winthro.

"It's about Catome's new apprentice I'm guessing."

"It's not Jon," said Elissa.

"Then what is it?"

"There's a disturbance in the force."

Cora and Winthro stared at her as if they've seen a ghost.

The Council made their way to the plains on their speeders and saw animals running away from a source. Haridan lions acted more vicious than usual as if disturbed by some sort. The Jedi saw this situation as a problem and knew then and there that something was wrong. Smoke and debris was sited from the northeast of their direction. They entered the site with the looks of distress.

"Looks likes pods crashed here," said Catome.

"It could have been anything," said Neuss.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Janice.

"Someone better inspect the area," said Tartan.

"Me and Neuss will inspect the area," said Janice.

"Make it quick Janice," said Catome. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Neuss and Janice checked the area. Smoke steamed through the crashed site. They searched everywhere at the crash sites and found nothing but steam. No pods were in them leaving not any evidence.

"This is odd," said Janice. "No components, no rubble."

"Yeah this is something," said Neuss.

"Unless…"

Janice cut on her lightsaber with the feeling of trouble lurking around her presence. The others ignited their lightsabers sensing the same trouble. A battle droid suddenly appeared out of stealth and scanned Janice and the other masters.

"Target acquired," said the droid. "Jedi knight."

"Janice, Neuss, get out of there now!" yelled Catome.

A few more droids appeared out of stealth and began blasting Janice and Neuss. The two Jedi defended their selves while being surrounded. They managed to destroy a couple droids without being harmed. More droids appeared out of nowhere and joined the battle. Catome and the rest joined their companions with aid for the sake of survival.

With a feeling of trouble drawing near, Jon got up quickly from the bench and ran to get back to his room. Out of the blue, a droid appeared from stealth and scanned Jon. His body stiffened by the droid's appearance. The droid found an error in its system. It couldn't decide what Jon had allegiance to. Everyone in the area stared at the droid as it scanned its surroundings.

"Target acquired," it said.

An army of droids appeared in the enclave. The Jedi turned their lightsabers on waiting for the droids' move.

_Damn I should've kept my pistol with me,_ thought Jon.

In the middle of the grassy plains, the small shuttle made its landing on the tranquil surface. The Sith Lord Darth Serreno made his way out the shuttle. He had a crooked smirk on his face with many evil intentions on his mind.


	4. Chapter 4

Story 4

Sith's Deception

The Jedi continued their fight with the droids. While each droid was laid to scraps, more kept appearing as if they rose from the ashes. The four Jedi Masters stuck together and watched each other's backs. They used defensive techniques as twenty more droids surrounded them in opening fire.

"We're going to have to make a direct attack," said Tartan. "There's too many droids and just us four."

"Patience Tartan," said Catome. "We will attack, but we must find the right moment."

At the enclave, the army of droids opened fire on the Jedi managing to kill a few. Jon immediately ran from the carnage and took cover at a nearby alley. He wondered how would he get to his room? But it might be infiltrated by more droids.

_Where the hell all these droids came from?_ he thought. Jon watched the Jedi struggle against the battle droids. He wished he could help, but the droids were too much for him to handle. In this scenario, it was every man and woman for them self.

Serreno sauntered through the plains, sensing a location of his adversaries. Haridan lions viciously assaulted him with uproars coming out of their system. Serreno backed easily from the lions and somehow used an old Jedi technique to trick the lions by waving his right hand. He forced them to obey his command.

"You will follow me now," he said to the lions.

The four Jedi stuck together deflecting each blaster shot fired. They managed destroying at least a couple of droids. However, the droids had the Jedi outnumbered 10 to 1. Catome used her skill to destroy a few droids with force techniques to crush their circuits while the others continued to deflect the blasts. Tartan however, decided to force push a droid as it clashed on others. The Jedi masters managed to hold their ground without being harmed while the droids continued to fire.

With little knowledge of the force, Jon decided to do what he knew was best. He used his street smarts which got him out of all sorts of situations. Jon ran through the alley and found on the other side more Jedi struggling to defend their selves against the droids. Even the younglings were getting slaughtered by the vicious battle droids. Jon found a clearing and took off across the sector and dived on the ground without making any signs of movement. He put his hands over his head as the carnage continued.

The lions led the dark lord to the academy as he gazed upon it with satisfactory.

"Ah excellent," he said. "And my battle droids are already there for distraction. Take them out."

The lions ran viciously to the enclave's entrance. Serreno smirked and strolled towards the academy with evil intentions. His mind was on focus for creating blood lust on the Jedi. He then jumped to the top of the wall and saw the carnage spreading throughout the academy. He became pleased of his soon 'accomplished mission'.

The Jedi Masters were tired of the droids. They continued to use defensive moves and force techniques throwing off their mechanical enemies. Catome continued to use the force to destroy the battle droids. Janice and Neuss deflected the blaster shots at least putting damage to the droids. Tartan deflected and continued to use force push.

"Tartan we're going with your plan now," said Catome.

"About time, it won't do us any good if we're like sitting ducks."

With blaster fire spreading throughout the academy, Jon crawled his way carefully across the sector. While he crawled, he found corpses and broken droids lying. It was a good thing he was so used to murder because if not, he would've been disgusted. He reached a dead-end and saw walls across the section and a door in front of him. Jon got up slowly from the ground and tried to open the door. Unfortunately, the door was magnetically sealed from his grasp. He tried to pick it open but even with his skills, it was impossible to open it.

_Dammit,_ he thought to himself.

He turned around and saw a battle droid ready to fire at him. He closed his eyes in fear. In no time, Jon felt himself being pushed. He immediately opened his eyes and found the battle droid destroyed by a young padawan with shaggy hair.

"Jon there you are," said Elisa. "Where were you?"

"I was around," said Jon. "Thanks for saving my skin."

"We don't have time we need to escape. Winthro, have you seen the others?"

"They're all scattered, I thought the knights would at least guide us."

"Have you seen Master Cora?"

"Not since the attack occurred."

"Well we need to find him so we can gather our fellow Jedi for escape."

"Good idea, we better get going while the droids are continuing the attack.

"Jon stay close to us," said Elissa.

The three ran across the sector of the academy avoiding hostile fire.

At the academy entrance, haridan lions came out of nowhere attacking Jedi on site. Serreno saw his lions and droids accomplishing their attacks. The attack was enough to distract the Jedi giving Serreno the opportunity to use his stealth. He sprung into action ready to complete his task.

Although the Jedi had a distraction, the elders of the temple still sensed Serreno's presence.

"The Sith has arrived here at the academy," said Grand Master Quran.

"I sense it too," said another elder.

The Jedi had spread out, attacking the gang of droids. Catome sliced each droid while using the force to destroy the droids by breaking parts inside their components. Janice however used her force technique to push the droids away from her. Tartan however, mixed defense with offense to deflect blaster fire while slashing them. Neuss used the force to pull droids and slash them, defending himself.

The three ran across the sector defending their selves from the droids while looking for their fellow Jedi. Jon ran as fast as he could across the sector, hiding behind Elissa and Winthro. They reached an alley and hid from the carnage coming up with a plan.

"Jon do you have your lightsaber?" asked Elissa.

"Yeah I have it on me but I don't know how to use it well."

"Well you'll have to try because they need all the help they can get."

"Don't worry about it Jon," said Winthro. "We won't pressure you but make sure you stay here."

"I'll be fine I got street smarts. You guys just be careful out there."

"Don't worry we'll be fine," said Elissa. "Winthro let's move out."

Elisa and Winthro sprang into action as Jon continued to hide behind the alley.

Serreno sauntered through the blaster fire and commotion without being detected. He let out a smirk knowing he was close to his goal. He stepped forth towards the temple taking his time with thoughts of how he was going to torture his enemies? He entered the temple then into the room where the elders were in. All the elders stood in one circle, swarming him with their lightsabers in hand.

"So the Sith has come to pay us a visit," said Quran. "If you thought you could come here without a challenge, then you're foolishly mistaken."

Serreno let out a chuckle without holding his guard.

"You old fool," he said. "If you thought I would come here unprepared then you're quite mistaken. Hand me your holocrons and I promise you will get to see your last days without bloodshed."

"How would you think if we would just hand over the holocrons and let you just walk out? You will have to take all of us on."

"I thought Jedi played fair, but ganging up on me is a little dirty. Too bad your power isn't as great as mine. You will all have to die at once."

He stooped low and fanned his arms letting out intense dark energy. All the elderly Jedi immediately fell to their deaths. Serreno let out a sadistic laugh as he made his way to the archives.

"Fools, I'm surprised even the elderly Jedi underestimated me. It was like they was expecting to die. Nevertheless, Sith toxic kills even the most powerful Jedi in the universe."

He saw a holocron that fascinated him. Serreno stared with the looks of satisfaction.

"Ah… I've finally found it."

Far in the plains, the Jedi continued to defend themselves against the droid attack. They kept coming and coming like zombies in the graveyard.

"Catome," said Janice. "I sense a great disturbance within you. Are you okay?"

"The elders," she said in disgust. "They're all dead."

"I sense it too, this is terrible. The Sith are quite crafty, who do you think has caused all this damage?"

"Only one man I know who could have committed such an act. Darth Serreno, he can't escape or we'll all be in trouble."

Elissa and Winthro saw their fellow Jedi in trouble. They double teamed on one droid then saw San and his friends struggling to survive. A few of Sans companions died in the crossfire but their group remained strong through this crazy trial. A droid shot fire and hit San on his right shoulder as he gagged.

"San!" yelled Elissa.

Her and Winthro rushed to the crowd of younglings to join the fight. Jon watched the action through the alley backing away to make sure no blaster fire would hit him. As he backed up, he bumped into hard metal that felt like a machine. He hesitantly turned around and saw red eyes glaring at him.

"Target acquired," it said.

Jon found out quickly that it was a droid. He took a grip of his lightsaber provided by Catome. Knowing he had no skill with a blade, Jon had no choice but to risk it. Before the droid blasted fire, the droid's head got sliced as sparks flew out. Jon felt astonished but yet relieved. Cora stepped forward towards Jon with a warm greeting.

"So you must be the apprentice of Catome, Jon Quelle."

"I am, who are you?"

"We better find an escape before the droids find us easy prey. We can chat later."

"Yeah, you got that right."

"Those padawans will need our help. Whatever you do, stay close to me."

Cora ran to join in the battle as Jon followed him closely.

Serreno left the enclave full of satisfactory clutching the holocron in his right hand. He chuckled with an evil glare in his eyes. He made his way back to his ship with an accomplished mission.

"We must get to Serreno!" yelled Catome.

"With all these droids, I doubt if we'll survive!" yelled Tartan.

"Take death out your mind Tartan, we must find a way to him before it's too late!"

"We must use the force to push the droids back," said Janice.

"Janice, you got it," said Catome. "We must use force push all together to knock the droids back."

The four Jedi stood together and knocked the droids back enough for them to escape to their speeders.

"We must hurry," said Catome.

The droids began firing again at the Jedi as they desperately made an escape. A shot had hit Janice in the lower leg as she yelled in pain. Catome came after her to protect her from further damage.

"Janice, are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"I'm fine, it's just a wound."

"You're coming with me."

"I'll be fine Catome, just go after the Dark Lord."

"I won't leave you here, now come on."

Catome quickly grabbed Janice and headed to her speeder. The Jedi deflected the blasts enough for Catome to place Janice on her speeder. They quickly took off for the search of the Dark Lord.

The group of younglings blocked and deflected each blaster shot by the droids. Elissa held San by the shoulders checking his wound. It was now helpless for the group. The droids circled around them to finish the task. Suddenly Cora joined in to save the younglings. He cut each droid standing in his way while Jon followed.

"Master Cora," said Elissa.

"Younglings, we need to attack the droids directly if we are to survive this meet," said Cora.

"Are you certain of this Master Cora?" asked Winthro. "It's a possibility we could get killed from the crossfire."

"He's right," said Jon. "Attacking all these droids will be like suicide."

"The force will guide us," said Cora. "Trust me on this one."

"Then we will attack," said San.

"San, you need to stay down," said Elissa. "You're hurt."

"I must Elissa. As long as I'm still breathing, I'll fight my way through."

The group scattered making a direct assault to the droids fighting their way through the sector.

Serreno finally made his way to his shuttle. The door steadily opened for his departure.

"Darth Serreno," said a familiar voice.

He turned around and saw his nemesis Catome and her Jedi companions standing, ready to stop him.

"Ah, Catome, it's nice to see a worthy adversary standing in my way."

"I thought I would see your defeat when we last met," she said.

"You should know that I'm hard to kill Catome. And you brought your companions to aid you, how clever. It isn't like you to have help. The power of the dark side must have overwhelmed you."

"You're faith in the dark side is overwhelming Serreno."

"We'll see, nevertheless I always come prepared. If you think I'm outnumbered, then you are a fool."

The battle droids appeared out of the blue ready to fire.

"Damn, more droids!" yelled Tartan.

The Jedi turned their lightsabers on ready for combat. Serreno cut on his knowing this was a challenge.

"And now Catome, let us fight."


	5. Chapter 5

Story 5

A Plot Against the Enemy

The group of young Jedi fought their way through a battalion of battle droids using the force to guide their every actions. San returned to battle with Elissa following him. Jon stuck behind Cora with his light saber ignited in his hand.

"Jon, ignore your emotions and deflect the droid's blaster fire before you get killed!" yelled Cora.

"I don't know if I can!" replied Jon.

"Jon trust me! You are stronger than you have ever imagined, just believe!"

"Fine, I'll try. It'll beat crawling and ducking."

Jon closed his eyes and emptied his mind. He then found himself deflecting blaster shots.

"I be damn, I'm doing it!" yelled Jon.

"Good, don't let arrogance get the best of you!" yelled Cora.

The droids fired at the four Jedi as they deflected the shots. The droids boldly charged at the Jedi. By using defense they slashed each droid that lunged at them. Serreno suddenly aimed for Catome. The two rivals then clanged blades in an all out duel.

Winthro destroyed each droid he met with the help of some of his companions. Elissa aided San and others by swiftly slicing them all at once. Cora charged at the droids tapping into the force. Jon stood in place with intense focus deflecting blaster shots. He managed to destroy one of the droids by his deflects. Although the Jedi managed to hold their guard against the army, a few more Jedi padawans were victims in the crossfire. The question though is will Cora's plan work? Or will they all die in trying to charge at blaster fire with little skill?

Neuss, Janice, and Tartan swung their lightsabers at the droids giving Catome a chance to fight the Dark Lord without any distractions. Although it was an even fight, she had to fight for her life. Her and Serreno was neck to neck in an even battle. Three more Fleshian droids fired at her from the hilltops. Catome threw her hand out to deflect the droid's fire and used the force to knock them backwards. Serreno took the advantage and used force push to knock Catome on her back. He smiled sadistically at her getting ready for another attack.

The group of young Jedi managed to destroy the Fleshian droids. The rest of the mechanical beasts took off for a retreat to the west section of the enclave.

"They're making a retreat!" yelled one of the young Jedi.

"Wait it's a trap," said Cora. "They're regrouping, it's best if we escape than to risk our lives over a battle we've already lost."

"What makes you so sure we lost?" asked Jon.

"With the elders dead and the Sith getting away with the archives, we have no chance. We just need to recuperate."

"And what's your plan for that?"

"We escape the enclave first, then we'll discuss it. For now we better search for our fellow Jedi and the younglings."

Serreno strolled slowly towards Catome savoring every moment. She laid helplessly on the ground with her lightsaber apart from her. He held his blade up with a craving to shed her blood. He could just taste the death of his victim already.

"Catome!" yelled Neuss.

Serreno gave a droid the signal to blast him for distraction. He didn't want his prey to get away. He lunged his lightsaber at her stomach to finish her off. Catome let out her hand and used the force to grab her lightsaber and swiftly blocked his attack.

"You're not the only one who's full of surprises Serreno," said Catome. She monkey flipped him over having him land on his back. Serreno quickly rolled to his feet stooping while stalking her. She stared at him as well ready for his next move.

The group of Jedi went the opposite direction from where the droids went. Around them were corpses of Jedi masters, knights, and younglings that the droids slaughtered. There were also destroyed droids and dead haridan lions.

"This is terrible," said Elissa. "I can't stand the site of seeing this."

"It's a terrible thing to cause bloodshed," said Cora. "But the Sith use anything as pawns just to get what they want. Even if it takes for them to kill innocent people they'll be happy to do it."

"Cora," said a voice.

He turned around and saw another group of Jedi behind them led by a dwarf-sized being.

"Ah Master Tae, it's good to see you alive," said Cora. "And you've rallied a group."

"Ever since I learned the Elders were killed by the Sith, I escorted as many Jedi as I could've out of the temple. It wasn't easy, a lot has died as you can see."

"You have the same intension as mine."

"There are others in the academy. But if we try to rescue them, then our efforts would be pointless. Those droids have us outnumbered, we must be cautious."

"What do you think we should do for our next course of action?"

"It's too late, they're coming back. All we can do now is fight our way out."

A battalion of droids marched towards the Jedi and lined up side by side, row after row with preparation to finish off their order.

Catome swiftly lunged an attack on Serreno. He quickly blocked the blade with his. Their lightsabers clanged back and forth with no advantage for any of them to take. The rest of the masters wondered how many more droids they had to destroy. It have must be at least over a thousand of them.

Serreno and Catome were neck to neck once again, studying each other, waiting for each other to make a move. Serreno let out a smirk and hit her in the stomach with the hilt of his blade.

"Catome!" yelled Janice.

"No, Janice you can't interfere," said Neuss. "Serreno will have the advantage and use the droids to kill you."

Serreno used a powerful force lightning ball to push her back, knocking her completely unconscious. With satisfactory, he rushed to his vessel and took off with the archive.

"Serreno's getting away!" yelled Tartan.

"Let him go," said Neuss. "If we try to stop him, he will kill us. We need to regroup. I promise you, he will not get away."

"Then we better check on Catome."

Serreno managed to escape the atmosphere with the archives along with the droids.

"I see the droids left as well," said Tartan.

"Yeah," said Neuss. "You check on Janice, I'll recover Catome."

At least hundreds of droids were ready to fire at the surviving pack of the Jedi Order. They were ready for this last stand swallowing their fear. The droids suddenly took off in the sky without leaving a trace.

"They're retreating," said Cora.

"I don't believe it," said Jon. "Did we win?"

"Don't be stupid Jon," said Elissa. "With all the carnage that has taken place and you think that we won?"

"Hey, don't get smart with me little girl, I was just wondering."

"Sooth your anger, both of you," said Master Tae. "The damage has been done. We better regroup with the rest of the order. We'll also wait for the return of the council."

"Are you alright Janise?" asked Tartan.

"Yeah," she said grunting in pain.

"You're going to need medical aid. I'm surprised you were still able to fight with such a condition."

"The force has covered me well. I just hope Catome is alright."

"Catome," said Neuss shaking her. "Catome, speak to me."

She slowly opened her eyes and grabbed a hold of Neuss.

"He got away didn't he?" she wondered.

"Yes, I don't know what his purpose was, but he succeeded."

"Not quite. Serreno is too clever than to know this was an easy escape. He is not far, he probably made a retreat outside the Hahira System. We better get back with the others and discuss this threat."

"Yeah these are Fleshian droids alright," said Cora examining the droids. "But what are the Sith doing with Fleshsian weapons?"

"That's an unanswered question," said Tae. "The Flehsian's are independent, although they are known for evil deeds."

"They're nothing but pirates, illegally selling and trading goods to syndicates across the galaxy."

"Well, it looks like the council has made their way back."

The speeders of the four Jedi Masters made their way back in one piece to the enclave. The Jedi were glad to see the four alive knowing there was still hope.

"Masters Catome, Janise, Tartan, and Neuss," said Tae. "It is good to see you alive."

"As well as you Master Tae," said Catome. "With the Elders gone, I'm sure you can keep the archives well-kept as our new elder."

"Indeed, we better get situated first. The Sith has damaged us but yet we are not broken."

"Elissa, you and Jon take Janise to the medical facility," said Catome.

"Yes master," they said.

"Yes, Cora I want you and the survivors to take the rest of the younglings to clear the bodies and droid parts," said Tae.

"It will be done master," he said.

Moments later, the remaining masters gathered in the council chambers to discuss the whereabouts of Serreno.

"Surely he hasn't gotten too far," said Tae. "Serreno is clever, but he knows we always have a source of ruining his plans."

"Tae is right," said Catome. "Serreno wouldn't be able to reach Etalon without us contacting the X-Republic of the attacks. He would be immediately arrested for the crimes he committed here."

"Those droids," said Neuss. "I recognized them."

"Indeed those were Fleshsian droids," said Tae.

"But is it possible the Fleshians are aiding the Sith?"

"These are dark times I'm afraid," said Tae, "The Order's vision has been clouded by the dark side. The Flesians always hated the X-Republic."

"But they would never stoop this low would they?" asked Tartan.

"Strange times call for strange alliances I'm afraid," continued Tae. "I propose the Fleshians and the Sith are collaborating for their own purposes. The Sith wants us destroyed so they can take over the universe. The Fleshians want to take over the X-Republic for their smuggling operations to become a phenomenon."

"Then we better warn the X-Republic immediately," said Neuss.

"It's not possible without enough evidence," said Tae. "Even if we told them, the Sith would claim that they stole or bought the droids. We can't truly come into conclusion."

"Well I do sense Serreno's presence outside the surface," said Catome. "Me and my apprentices can go after him and try to stop whatever he and the kingdom is up to."

"A sound plan for the moment, but it's very risky," said Tae, "You and Serreno know each other very well. He will know you're following him. But yet I see no other way. While you and your apprentices chase after Serreno, I and a couple of fellow Jedi will investigate the droid attacks and head to Xena for a conference. I pray that our mission will go swell. May the force be with us all."

Elissa and Jon took Janise to the remains of the medical facility. Medical droids and Fleshian droid parts were around the area with corpses of Jedi on the cots and floors.

"Why would master tell us to come here?" wondered Elissa. "All the medical droids are completely destroyed."

"For distracting purposes," grunted Janise.

"The hell that means?" wondered Jon.

"The masters had a brief meeting about the whereabouts of Serreno. They wanted ya'll to send me hear so you wouldn't be able to hear."

"Sounds like a load of crap to me. Why do the council has to hold their secrets?"

"You have a lot to learn about the Jedi Jon Quelle. Now you two help me to this cot."

The two helped her up to the cot, moving the corpses out-of-the-way. Janice placed her hand on her wound healing it completely with her power.

"That was the same technique Catome used," said Jon. "Why you didn't do that earlier?"

"As I said, for distracting purposes."

Once nightfall had hit the sky, Cora and the younglings were able to separate the Jedi corpses from the droid parts in separate piles with the help of Elissa and Jon.

"Younglings and knights, gather around," said Tae. "The council has made their final decision of our next course of action."

The group of Jedi knights and younglings gathered in one circle around the master with Catome, Tartan, Neuss, and Janice standing behind him.

"Now as you all of you know the Sith has taken a very important holocron from us in the temple of knowledge today," Tae began preaching. "They have murdered the grand masters and spilled our blood within the enclave. I ask you today to not give into hatred. Our lost today will soon be our victory. And that is why we must stop the Sith in any way possible. Me and the council agrees that Catome and her apprentices Elissa and Jon Quelle will chase after Serreno and will retrieve the holocron. I, Cora, Neuss, Janice, and Tartan will go to Xena to hold a conference with the X-Republican Government and Officials. The rest of you will watch over the enclave and see it be rebuilt. May the force guide us all in this dark clouded journey."


	6. Chapter 6

Story 6

Crash Landing

Serreno's shuttle entered New Hahira's moon Harida and landed near a mountain in a valley. Trees swarmed the area which led to a never-ending forest.

Serreno decided to stay in his ship for the time being to make contact with the Dark Kingdom for the excellent news of their plans. The woman appeared from the comlink once again to hear of Serreno's efforts.

"Your highness," he said. "I have retrieved the archive. The Jedi are weakened by my forces."

"Very good Lord Serreno," she said. "Return the archives to me at Etalon. Do not do anything foolish."

The woman disappeared from the holo-comlink signing off. Serreno made a crooked smirk while gripping on the holocron.

"The archive will be secure," he said to himself. "But first I must get rid of my enemies. This moon should be a good place to settle for the night. There's a lot of animals out here that could make a fine meal for a campfire."

Dawn has reached the sky as the Jedi Order prepared for the mission ahead.

Catome and her two apprentices loaded up the shuttle in the docks with preparation for the long journey ahead.

At the same time, Master Tae and the council got ready for their diplomatic mission.

Neuss along with Winthro went up to Catome for a vital informal before departure.

"Master Catome," he said.

"Yes Master Neuss," she said.

"If you don't mind I would like for you to take my apprentice Winthro with you for your journey. He's an excellent pilot, I'm sure he'll be handy for you."

"Very well, I will make sure he's well taken care of."

"No, this is his trial as well. I want him to face the very people who enslaved him as a child."

"Then his test will soon begin."

"I promise I won't be a burden Master Catome," said Winthro. He bowed to her with utter respect.

"Since you're with me I want you to help Elissa and Jon store the cargo," said Catome.

"Yes Master Catome."

Winthro ran towards one of the crates to help his 'now' companions load the ship.

"Winthro!" yelled Neuss.

Winthro turned around to get his master's full attention.

"May the force be with you son!"

In response, Winthro bowed and turned to grab a crate.

Since there were a few droids left in the enclave, the Jedi younglings had to pitch in to help load the cargo into each shuttle. Crates of food, medicine, and clothing were provided for each ship which carried out a hundred loads.

In addition, two droids were provided for Catome's ship. One droid was tall and skinny with the color of silver. The other droid was a floating white ball mechanism.

"Master Catome," said a young Jedi knight. "With compliments of Master Tae, the order has provided you with these two droids."

"Wonderful," she said.

"Hello Master Catome I am M-136 at you service," said the tall skinny droid. "You probably do not know I am here to do maintenance services for your shuttle. How may I be of assistance to you?"

"Hello M-136, I want you to check the filters of the engine to make sure it's prime."

"Yes ma'am, it will be done."

The droid made its way inside the shuttle to do its task. The other droid floated to Catome making a humming sound.

"And what is this little droid?" asked Catome.

"This is a DW3 model," said the Jedi Knight. "It's a repair drone."

"Awe, it's so cute," said Elissa from out of the shuttle. "Is that droid coming with us?"

"Yep, he's all yours and he's very handy not only in repairs but in combat. This droid has a nice laser that can slice through anything."

"That is so unique."

"Elissa!" called Jon from the ramp of the shuttle. "Don't think I'm going to load these crates by myself!"

Elissa sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm coming Jon! Besides, you got Winthro to help you out!"

"That scrawny little guy! He's no help!"

"Well it's not like I have big muscles myself Jon!"

"Go ahead and finish loading the crates Elissa," said Catome.

"Yes master."

"Give Master Tae my appreciation."

"I will Master Catome and may the force be with you." The young Jedi bowed to the Jedi master and continued his share of loading the cargo to Tae's shuttle.

"Alright DW3," said Catome. "Enter the ship for now on patrol. I'll give you further orders later."

The droid let out a beeping noise of approval and floated inside the ship. Catome sighed and sauntered her way to Tae's shuttle to meet with the other members of the council.

The Sith Lord sat at a campfire he sat up in the middle of the forest. He had a wild sharp horned antelope under the fire for his meal. The head of the antelope was set near the fire. It's body was cooked well done under the fire. Serreno used his pocket knife to gut it open and carved several parts.

Satisfied of the fine meal, Serreno chuckled with evil intent.

"Now it is time," he said.

For a last discussion, the council met together before their mission was underway. Catome joined the group to fill in on the detail.

"I truly believe that the Fleshians are working with the Sith," said Tae. "There's no doubt about it."

"But the Xenex Republic believes in equal rights," said Neuss. "If only we can somehow catch them in the act."

"We will Neuss," said Catome. "My apprentices and I will foil their plot. And when we do, I will be sure to contact you for a last plan to stop the Dark Kingdom once and for all."

"Then we're counting on you Master Catome," said Tae. "Find Serreno, stop him before it's too late."

"I will Master Tae and may the force be with you all."

Elissa and Jon were finally done loading the crates with the help of Winthro and a few other Jedi.

"Thanks," said Jon. "We appreciate it a lot."

"No problem," said a young man. "And may the force be with you on your journey."

The young man left to do another task. Jon, Elissa, and Winthro stood on the ramp awaiting Catome.

"I don't know about ya'll but I'm chilling in the cockpit," said Jon.

He tapped Elissa on the shoulder and made his way into the shuttle.

"Well we better get ready," said Elissa. "I'll get the droids situated."

"I'll start the ship," said Winthro.

Inside the shuttle, Jon sat on the pilot seat in the cockpit with his feet placed on the panels. Winthro made his way in staring at the smuggler.

"You're going to fly the ship Jon?" he asked.

"Naw, I'm just waiting on ya'll so we can get this show on the road. Where's Elissa by the way?"

"She's checking on the droid's status. Um Jon, if you don't mind, I'd like to start the ship up."

"Hey, don't let me stop you, I'm not much of a good pilot anyways."

Jon got up from the pilot's seat and sat on the passenger's side. Winthro sat on the pilot's seat and hit the panels to check on the ship's status.

"Alright engines are stable, all systems are cooperative. I'm putting the systems on stand-by until we're ready for launch."

"Oh, that's great," said Jon.

Catome made her way into the cockpit with Elissa behind her.

"So are all systems ready for a go?" she asked.

"Systems are on stand-by Master Catome," said Winthro. "We're ready for launch when you give the command."

"Have systems launched immediately."

"Yes master."

"Jon, if you don't mind, I'd like to sit in the co-pilot's seat to check on the ship's status."

"Yeah sure, send me to the brig."

"C'mon Jon," said Elissa. "We can sit in the main hold."

"Fine by me."

Jon and Elissa made their way out of the cockpit leaving Winthro and Catome as the pilot's of the shuttle.

"Alright Master Catome, I'm launching the shuttle now," said Winthro.

Winthro turned on the engines to the shuttle and scanned for secondary systems. Once everything was clear, the shuttle slowly ascended. In no time, the shuttle flew its way to the sky and left the atmosphere of New Hahira.

The rest of the order watched the shuttle fly away and were in preparation for their mission.

"May the force be with you," said Tae.

"Slow the ship down," said Catome. "We're not leaving this system yet. I sense Serreno is still here, this may as well be a trap. Fly towards one of those moons."

Winthro followed Catome's command and flew towards one of the moons. They landed in one of the craters in the far moon. They sat at the moon's crater for at least three minutes waiting on the arrival of the Dark Lord.

"I got a question," said Jon. "Why are we wasting time in the moon's crater when we should hunt this maniac down?"

"Patience Jon," said Catome. "Our enemy will show himself in due time."

"Patience my eye, you guys are sitting there doing nothing while our enemy is lurking in the shadows. Hell, he could be on our tails now as we speak."

Elissa leaned on the walls and saw a bright spot above. It was too big to be a star, so it had to be a ship.

"Look," she said pointing.

Everyone in the cockpit watched as the lightened spot floated slowly out of the reaches of the two moons.

"It's him," said Catome. "I can sense his presence from here and it's very strong. Re-launch the shuttle and stay close."

"Yes Master Catome," said Winthro.

With the command given, Winthro re-launched the ship flew out of the moon to follow Serreno's shuttle.

By using his abilities, Serreno sensed the ship's presence and smirked. He flicked a few panels and got ready to hit hyperspace.

"He's getting ready to hit hyperspace," said Winthro.

"Patience," said Catome. "Follow his coordinates. Where is he headed?"

"It looks like Coordinates 638G Master Catome."

"That's deep within Empress Territory. Very well, we'll have to be careful. This is definitely a trap."

Serreno took off to hyperspace with Catome's crew hot on his trail.

Serreno's shuttle appeared from light speed to a non-civilized system deep within Empress Territory. The world was next to its star which contained three moons as big as an asteroid. The planet itself contained nothing but water.

A space station shaped as a sphere floated near the planet on guard of any intruders outside the Dark Kingdom with five connecting shuttles the shape of disks. Two cannons were on each disc which indicated a no survival situation if anyone invaded the territory without permission by the Empress and Sith Lords.

A man with grey skin, red eyes, and black armor appeared in Serreno's holo-commlink. Markings of the Ancient Sith was on his bald head with a helmet to match. His body was lanky and a bit fragile but everyone that knew his abilities dared not to underestimate him.

"Lord Serreno, so I see you accomplished your mission," he said.

"Oh Tangren, is that how you welcome back your brother? Or maybe you're just jealous that I accomplished what you couldn't."

"You are a fool Serreno? Can't you see the Empress was only using you towards her advantage. You maybe cunning but that doesn't make you a powerful Sith. Your tricks will soon be your fall."

"And your arrogance will soon be yours. So will you stick with the plan or what?"

"I'll play your games for now Serreno. But one day your enemies will kill you."

The space station suddenly camouflaged itself by using a stealth component.

Serreno's shuttle flew towards the station's location awaiting the arrival of his perfect bait.

Catome's shuttle jumped its way out of hyperspace with the search of Serreno.

"Something's not right here," said Catome. "I feel a disturbance in the force."

"I feel it too," said Jon.

"This system is so familiar, I remember my master told me of this once."

"I've found Serreno's ship," said Winthro.

"Don't go after it just yet," said Catome. "First I want a checking of this system."

"Alright, logging onto the computer." Winthro quickly typed in the database for their location. "We're at the Paru System Master Catome."

"The Paru System, now I know what my master was talking about. Back in the Xenex War, the Empress conquered this system so she could keep rich amounts bacta for her empire. Although we won the war, the cost of Paru killed us in the long run. Without the natural amounts of bacta, diseases and wounds will be hard to treat."

"That sounds terrible," said Jon.

"Wait, there's supposed to be a massive station guarding the planet but where is it?"

"I'm not liking this," said Elissa.

"Winthro fly at an alternate direction then fire."

"Yes Master Catome."

Winthro flew the ship at the opposite of Serreno's.

"Jon, get to the main cannon," said Catome. "Elisa you take the right cannon and I'll get to the left. Winthro, I'm trusting you to keep this ship stable. No matter what happens I want you to take a deep breath and relax."

"Yes master," he said.

"Everyone to your battle stations."

The ship was now close to Serreno's range. The Sith Lord looked back and smirked devilishly. Serreno ascended his ship as the large space station appeared.

"This is not good," said Winthro in a shaken tone.

Jon, Elissa, and Catome activated their cannons astounded to see the massive station firing at them.

"You got to be kidding me," said Jon.

"Winthro, pull the ship back immediately!" commanded Catome on the commlink. "Elissa, Jon, aim for the cannons!"

Bullets of sweat dotted Winthro's body as he took short breaths hoping to get out of this predicament. The ship swerved left and right as Jon, Elissa and Catome shot at the station's cannons. With a combination of the ship being rocked and their shuttles less effective cannons, the crew was unable to get them selves out of the situation with a counter. All they could do now was find a way to escape. The cannons from the massive space station gave Catome's shuttle three crucial hits which damaged the system.

"Systems are overloading!" cried Winthro. "We're not going to make it!"

"Yes we are!" yelled Catome. "Winthro use the accelerator to reach inside that near planet! DW3, I want you to repair as much components as possible. M-136, I want you to give DW3 assistance!"

"Alright, hang on!" yelled Winthro.

He used his skills to turn the ship around and quickly pressed the accelerator. The shuttle made its' way to the planet entering the atmosphere. A fourth shot was fired on the ship which gave it complete damage. DW3 was completely damaged after the attempt to repair the ship. It was now impossible to make a safe landing at this point. All they could do now is pray. Catome, Elissa and Jon quickly deactivated the cannons and rushed back to the cockpit.

The surface of Paru contained vast oceans and mountains swarming.

"What's the status of the shuttle?" asked Catome.

"Not good," said Winthro. "Systems are down and it's impossible for an emergency landing."

"Dammit," said Jon. "I knew one day I was going to die but not like this."

"We're not out of this yet," said Catome. "Land in the ocean, the water can protect us from the crash."

"Like that'll work!"

"Do not underestimate the force."

Catome closed her eyes and outstretched her arm forward. The ship slowed down just a little to make a crash landing near the mountains which gave the ship little damage.


	7. Chapter 7

Story 7

Lost Treasure

Serreno's shuttle made its way to the docking area of the massive station. His shuttle made a safe landing at a clear spot. Awaiting on the Sith Lord was Tangren and a few guards standing beside him. Serreno made his exit out of the shuttle and sauntered towards the other Sith Lord and his guards.

"You and your pointless schemes," said Tangren. "If that was me I would've shot them on site."

"You never take the pleasures of killing your enemies do you?" wondered Serreno.

"I do but I do not waste my time doing it."

"Wasting time is not what it's called my dear brother. The Empress was right about you. You are predictable just like your father and that's how he lost the title to his throne."

"Enough, the holocron, where is it?"

"It's here in the palm of my hand." Serreno pulled out the small blue cube from his pocket and flashed it before his brother.

"Excellent," said Tangren. "I'll surely deliver the favor for you."

"Yes, deception is the key towards the New Empire's success. While you go to Etalon to deliver the holocron to the Empress, I will lead our enemies to another trap."

"Why not just hunt for them in the planet below. We have plenty of troops and acolytes that can hunt the Jedi down and kill them."

"No, Catome will die by my hand and mines alone."

"You and that woman. Fine, do what you must but I will deliver the holocron to the Empress for our final plot against the Jedi."

"Patience Tangren, wait for them to recover then leave immediately to Etalon. There, I will bait them into another trap."

"Then prepare yourself Lord Serreno."

Tangren snatched the holocron from Serreno's palm and stormed away with his cape flapping behind his lanky body as his guards followed. Serreno smirked and let out a smart remark.

"I already am Lord Tangren. I just hope you're ready."

Everyone was laid out for a few moments after the crash landing that transpired. The shuttle lied flat on the shore with smoke flaring out.

Jon was unconscious in the mud. He opened his eyes and found himself outside the shuttle with glass swarming him. The crash was a hard landing after having to fly out the window. He wondered if he was still alive. He was on his hands and knees grunting in pain. Scars covered the side of his face after the impact.

"Jon!" called Elissa. She ran towards him in comfort and checked any possible injuries he sustained.

"Are you okay?"

"So am I alive?" he wondered.

"You took a pretty hard shot but you made it through."

"Wonderful, how about Catome and Winthro?"

"They're in the ship in one piece."

"Wow, how long was I out?"

"Probably a few hours. Let's get back to the ship, Master Catome is forming a meeting."

Elissa helped Jon steadily to his feet and carried him to the ship for his wounds to have treatment.

"A few hours huh?" wondered Jon. "Not bad for a knockout."

Since there were no medical droids provided by the crew due to the shortage of droids, Elissa treated Jon's wounds in the medical facility.

When they finished, they entered the main hold where Catome and Winthro sat and waited.

"Are you okay Jon?" asked Catome.

"They're just flesh wounds. I've never felt better but thanks for asking."

"Well we're in a bit of a jam as you can see. The diagnosis of the ship reads crucial."

"What happened, the engine got blown up or something?"

"Actually one of the repulse converters let out a shortage after the last shot fired. That's why we weren't able to get a safe landing."

"Well what in the hell we're supposed to do now since the converter is apparently destroyed?"

"You didn't let me finish Jon. I have DW3 repairing all the damages to the ship with M-136."

"Oh wonderful, so will they make a new converter cause we won't be able to get off ground into space without three pairs? By the time we miraculously get one, the Sith will find us as sitting ducks."

"You know you are real stubborn Jon. I'm trying to tell you and the padawans my plans and you keep interrupting me. If you can just have patience I can tell you what I know for our plans to proceed."

"Fine, have it your way sister."

Elissa shook her head in disbelief of Jon's actions.

"The force is strong within this place," Catome continued. "But I sense its' corruption."

"What do you mean master?" wondered Elissa.

"I know you are too young and vulnerable to learn darkside secrets but sometimes going through dark trials make one stronger. It was over four millennia ago during the first Jedi Conflict in the Xenex Galaxy. The Xenex King, at the time, possessed a very powerful clear crystal. It was his most prized possession for when he found it on Xian Tay during a mining exploration in his youth. The Jedi and the Sith however, found out about the crystal and entered their kingdom on Cantooine. Since the Xenex Kingdom at the time wasn't involved with the conflict, the King negotiated with the Jedi and Sith of the crystal. He was willing to give the crystal up in exchange for one of theirs. The Jedi showed the King rare Adegan crystals from the Adegan system in the Star Galaxy. The Sith showed the King a rare Qixoni crystal. The King was interested in the Qixoni crystal so he agreed to exchange the clear crystal for their Qixoni crystal. The Jedi and the Sith weren't the only ones who heard of this rare crystal, the Flesians were also eager to take this crystal from the palms of the King. They cared less about the Jedi Conflict. All they wanted was riches for their planet to prosper. With a perfect opportunity in mid space, a Flesian raid attacked the Sith force after jumping out of hyperspace. The battle was intense but at the end the Sith were able to destroy the Flesian fleet. However, their ship was badly damaged. They went to a nearby system for repairs but they found their selves at an uncivilized system. With no contact from allies and crucial damage from the assault, their shuttle fatally crashed on the surface. The King and Queen of the rising Dark Kingdom were beyond upset at this point. They sent a force to find the shuttle and retrieve the crystal. They were unable to find the crystal but its power drew the Sith towards its' location before the Jedi. That's when they began building Atalon Station which is now hovering this planet."

"So the crystal is here?" asked Jon.

"Yes, and I believe it's in one of these oceans."

"Yeah, when we first got here I could sense its' power," said Elissa. "It's something I've never felt before. It's like an added sense."

"Jon, I want you and Elissa to find this crystal," said Catome.

"What, you got to be kidding me?" remarked Jon. "That crystal can be anywhere."

"The force is strong with you Jon. Trust me, it will guide you. Retrieve the crystal from its' dark presence. This will be your next task."

"As you say master."

"Follow me to the cargo hold Jon," said Elissa.

The two made their way out of the cockpit leaving Catome and Winthro alone once again.

"Let me know when systems are checked."

"Yes Master Catome," said Winthro.

The shuttle of the Jedi Council reached touchdown on Xena's unique surface. The aurora lighted night sky was the only light to shine throughout urban planet since it was far away from its' star. The Xenex Republic Capitol Building was over four thousand feet, the tallest building of the planet.

"This is Officer Danita of the X-Republic docking authority what is your business here in Xena?" said a man from the comm.

"Hello Officer Donita, this is Jedi Master Tae of the Jedi Council. We're here to discuss the case of the Sith attack on our world of Hahira with the Ministers."

"Yes, they have informed us of your arrival, you may dock at module 221. Have a nice stay here on Xena."

The Jedi followed the officer's orders and made their way to the docking module near the capitol building.

Elissa and Jon made their way out of the shuttle unto the moist, damp surface of Paru. They were in environmental suits for protection of the planet's cold climate as they were ready to take a dive into the vast ocean.

"Alright, we've walked a few miles over hills and we're near a dead-end," said Elissa. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"You're the one who's following," said Jon.

"Well master said this was your task. Mine is to just aid you in your task."

"Well you go ahead and do that."

The two were at the edge of the muddy shore. The water in the ocean stood still like grass. It was as if ice-covered the entire ocean. Without a word, Jon dove in the shallow cold water with Elissa following.

"I have a bad feeling about this," she said.

The ocean was dark even in shallow water. The two had to turn the light on their helmets just to see where they were going. The two saw exotic creatures crawling on the ocean floor with sea stars waving feeding on microorganisms. With no time to spare, the two companions swam their way to the depths of the ocean.

"Wow, look at this," said Elissa. "We must've reached the depths of the ocean."

"Yeah, I can barely see a thing," said Jon.

"But can you feel it?" said Elissa. "The source of the power is growing stronger and stronger the further we get to the depths."

"Yeah, it's like something is piercing through my skin, but yet more life is being brought to me."

"It's the force Jon," said Elissa. "It's calling you as the power of the crystal is reacting. Let's take a dive deep in the depths."

Jon agreed and dove further down in the depths of the ocean. A school of Paru Ice fish swam away from the two protégé as they continued swimming down with the force guiding them. The further they swam down, the more they could feel the crystal's power reacting to them.

"Its' power is intense," said Elissa.

"Which means the crystal is here," said Jon.

The two continued swimming down the vast dark water feeling the intense power as it drew to them like light. Suddenly multiple spots of light appeared as it passed by them. They were in a puzzled state, unsure if what they saw were real.

"The hell?" wondered Jon. "Elissa, you saw that?"

"Yeah, what was that?"

"I don't think we're alone here."

Suddenly a giant scale worm lunged towards them showing its' sharpened teeth. The two swiftly moved out-of-the-way using the force to guide them. To Jon, it was using personal instinct.

"I guess we're not alone," said Jon.

"Jon listen to me," said Elissa. "Find the crashed ship, it's on the ocean floor. The worm must be protecting it. Retrieve it while I distract this thing."

"Will do." With Jon diving further to the ocean floor, Elissa ignited her lightsaber and waited for the fifty footed scale worm to turn around. The worm turned its' massive body around and attacked Elissa squirming in rage.

"The darkside is with this one," she said.

The creature bit at her once again but she swiftly dodged its' bite and slashed its' teeth as it growled in furious pain. Elissa swam around the creature with her blade at hand evading its' every movements.

With enough distraction, Jon made his way to the ocean floor and spotted the crashed, rusty ship. It had the looks of a Sith Warship of the Old Republic era. He found an entrance and swam his way in.

Three Ambassadors of the X-Republic stood and waited for the Jedi's arrival in the public hangar of module 221 as the shuttle made its' landing.

The first to exit out of the ship was Jedi Master Tae followed by Neuss, Janice, and finally Tartan who strutted his way out. The Ambassadors met the four Jedi Masters halfway through the ramp with a pleasant introduction.

"Greetings Master Jedi," the man said. "I am Ambassador Tascam. With me are Ambassadors Elam and Quan. We will be your guide during your stay here in Xena."

"Thank you Ambassador Tascam. I am Jedi Master Tae. With me are my companions Masters Janice, Neuss, and Tartan."

"A pleasure, we've heard about your misfortune at the Jedi Temple back at Hahira. I hope the Ministers will get to the bottom of this."

"But to tell you the truth what the Kingdom has done is an act of war."

"And you said they used Flesian Battle Drones?"

"Yes Ambassador," said Janice. "We saw them with our own eyes. There were dozens of them and were very advanced in technology."

"So I see," said Ambassador Tascam. "But if you follow us we will show you to your rooms."

The Jedi Masters followed the three Ambassadors out of the hangar into the planet's surface. Surrounding them were skyscrapers over two thousand feet tall. They were walking on a bridge with air speeders swarming through Xena's thin atmosphere. A few shuttles swarmed above traffic, hovering over the planet.

"The area you are in is the Minister's Square," said Ambassador Tascam. "This is the only area in Xena which has the tallest buildings. Above you see the Xena Capitol Building. That's where the Ministers hold their meetings and press conferences. The top floor of the building is where the Prime Minister's Office located. Your meeting will be held on the 165th floor of the building."

"Sounds fun," said Tartan.

"So what are those shuttles hovering the atmosphere for?" asked Janice.

"Oh those are our safety patrols. They make sure there is enough oxygen for civilians to breathe in Xena's thin atmosphere and to make sure to keep intruders out who don't have access of docking here."

"So I see."

"So are there any more questions before I show you to your rooms?"

There was no answer which meant everyone was ready to move forth on their journey.

"Alright, let's get moving," Ambassador Tascam finally said.

The five Jedi Masters followed the three Ambassadors to a docking ramp and led them to a cab. A droid with strict discipline was the pilot of the speeder which was going to take the Jedi to their suite. The speeder was fit for ten which was very expensive for poor and middle-class civilians. The Ambassadors got in first then the Jedi. The speeder took off to the luxurious suite which was a mile away from the Capitol Building.

Jon swam his way inside the ancient Sith Warship and discovered the bridge in which he knew by instinct the crystal was. Sparks flew from old computers with droid parts from old modules floating around the place. A great source of evil was within the ship but it far phased Jon since he lived his whole life in a nightmare. Curiosity ran through his mind as he began toggling the computer's programming system.

"Amazing this damn thing still works after being sunken over a thousand years under water?" he questioned to himself.

He played with the system some more, checking on the data banks. His curiosity led him to ancient Sith knowledge. He knew it was forbidden to look into the Sith's tactics but his stubbornness was his worst character. He pulled up the Sith Code and read the lines;

_Peace is a lie, there is only passion._

_Through passion I gain strength_

_Through strength I gain power._

_Through power I gain victory._

_Through victory, my chains are broken._

_The Force shall free me._

"Huh, sounds like my kind of people," he said. "I wonder what else these people got hidden in their data system."

He dug further deep into the archives to look into more files but the computer suddenly moaned and pulled up a holo-recording of a man in custom Jedi robes wearing a mask over his face showing only his eyes and slight long hair. He was with another man who had on an imperial suite with slick hair and glasses to cover his eyes.

"What is this?" wondered Jon.

_"The Emperor will be so pleased when he collects this crystal,"_ said the Imperial Agent on the holo-recording. _"I must say this is a glorious day for the Empire. King Tarlan was a fool but yet smart to surrender that crystal over to the Sith Empire. Consider this your lucky day Jedi."_

_"I told you already Jan that I left the Order,"_ said the masked man. _"The Jedi are weak, and when I learned about the Emperor's plan of expansion I couldn't resist."_

_"Although you are a turncoat you are still considered a Jedi to me boy."_

_"Enough, you must've forgot that this is my task. You're just along for the ride."_

_"If it wasn't for my tactics, you would've failed this task miserably and the Jedi would've gained the crystal towards their advantage."_

_"Regardless the crystal is ours and once I receive my reward of prestige, I will soon become a Sith Master."_

_"So you will. But soon this galaxy will be a part of the Empire's expansion. And with the uprising of the Dark Kingdom, the Jedi __wil_l be wiped out completely. The Xenex Kingdom will kneel before their Emperor and the Republic will crumble. A grand golden age will soon be at hand."

The recording stopped, leaving Jon in deep thought.

"The Emperor?" he questioned. "Was he referring to the Sith Empire back in the age of the Old Republic?"

_" Jon!"_called Elissa on his suit's inner comm. _"Jon do you respond!"_

He soon snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "This is Jon Quell."

_"Did you find the crystal?"_

"Not yet I'm still searching."

_"Well hurry up, I can't hold this thing for any longer!"_

"Hang on girl, I'm almost finished. I believe the crystal is somewhere on the bridge. I can feel it."

_"Well search your feelings and get the damn thing before this creature makes an appetizer out of me!"_

"Just hang on okay!" Elissa's signal was lost leaving Jon in worry.

"Elissa do you copy… Elissa do you copy, respond?" There was yet still a signal lost. All he could do was pray for the worst not happening. Jon muttered a swear under his breath and swam through the wreckage.

Avoiding the monstrous predator's grasp, Elissa continued to evade its' scowling attack. She swam towards its' backside but the worm snapped its' jaws at her menacingly twirling its' body. Avoiding the creature's bite, Elissa did a stunning back flip with the force guiding her. She saw an opening of the creature's tail and swam towards it. Taking quick and deep strokes, Elissa used her right hand to swiftly jab her blade into the worm's tail. In blinding rage, the creature wiggled and squirmed in pain giving Elissa enough time to make a second evasion. She swam away from the creature giving herself a head start. But eventually the creature saw through Elissa's plot and swam after her.

Jon was near the object. He could feel the power drawing to him. He moved droid parts out-of-the-way to clear a path as suddenly he heard a voice in his head.

_Turn back you can't handle the power,_ it said.

Jon ignored the voice and kept stroking forward. He suddenly saw skeletal corpses of Sith Imperialists floating in front of him.

_You are strong in the force,_ said the voice again. _But the Jedi's influence makes you weak._

Jon closed his eyes in pain ignoring the voice but it was starting to get the best of him. He pulled the corpses out of his way but the voice continued running through his head.

_I can sense your hatred, your power. I can sense your fear. Embrace it, and you will be set free._

"Shut up!" yelled Jon. He menacingly pulled and shoved the corpses out-of-the-way and spotted the crystal floating beneath him. He stared at its' glow and grabbed it.

"Wow, this thing started this entire ruckus," he said. "I better get going before more voices pops into my head. Elissa hang on I'm coming."

Elissa was near the ocean floor, a spot where she knew she was vulnerable. The massive worm swam viciously towards her with its' mouth open revealing its' monstrous fangs yet again. Elissa closed her eyes wondering if this was the end. Out of the blue, multiple missiles shot out of the ship and blasted the worm, wounding it critically. The creature shrieked in horror as Elissa stared in a puzzled state.

_"Hey kid can you hear me?"_ asked Jon on the inner comm.

"Jon!" she yelled excitedly.

_"Alright I got the damn thing now let's get the hell out of here."_

"Right behind you."

With the creature distracted by its' wounds, Elissa quickly grabbed her lightsaber from the creature's tail and followed Jon to shore.

"What took you so long?" wondered Elissa.

"The ancient Sith distracted me," he said. "But I must say I was shocked to see that their cannon still worked."

"So that's the crystal?"

"Sure is what a beauty to behold. I tell you, selling something like that in the streets would give you a great fortune."

"Well we're not in the streets so let's head back to the ship before that monstrous thing comes after us again."

"Hey, that's where we're headed right?"

In no time, the two made their way back to shallow water without harm caused to them.

Darth Tangren entered one of the shuttles inside the main hangar and immediately took off. A few droids were with him checking the system's status as he flew the ship above Etalon station. By the time he had the clear, he took off for lightspeed to Etalon.

Serreno watched from a distance letting out a smirk on his face.

"Be my bait Tangren because soon I will restore order in the Kingdom. But for now I must prepare myself for departure. I feel Catome is ready to make a move."


	8. Chapter 8

Story 8

Kingdom's Scheme

Tangren's shuttle made its' way inside the dark surface of Etalon after Serreno was willing to give him the crystal to deliver for the Empress.

Etalon, the capital of the Dark Kingdom, was a barren surface that contained mountains and valleys of mostly dirt and rocks. The Ancient City Dirsden was the only city on the planet ruled completely by the Empress.

Etalon consisted of a strict feudal system that everyone had no choice but to abide to. The lower class contained the peasants and slaves which stayed in the lower houses from the Empress Tower. The peasants were the ones that were not force sensitive and were treated horribly by the Empress' guards and acolytes. They were forced to work in free labor mining for crystals and artifacts to present to the Empress. The slaves however was force sensitive and were sent to the Empress for training. The slaves were assigned to masters for training as they were horribly by high-class warriors, acolytes, including their own masters in which their trials were brutal. If they passed the trials, they would move up to the ranks as an assassin or acolyte. If they fail then they would be killed. Above the lower class was the middle class in which consisted the soldiers, assassins, and acolytes which stayed at the lower to the mid tower. The soldiers were paid descent and served the Empress well by completing certain missions against the Jedi and X-Republic or maintaining order in the kingdom by guarding every area in the city. The assassins and acolytes were well-trained Dark Jedi wielding the darkside of the force. The difference between the two was that assassins focused more on combat and were very aggressive blood thirsty warriors. The acolytes focused more on power and wield it as a weapon. The higher class contained the Sith Masters, the Dark Lords, and the Empress herself. The Sith Masters lived in the mid tower and were paid handsomely by the royal palace. The Sith Lords, the children of the Empress, lived at the upper tower where the palace was located.

Tangren made his way out of his shuttle after it docked outside the palace. In his hand was the holocron he took from Serreno. A man over six feet tall with pale skin, bald head with Sith markings, and crow black eyes, dressed in a black garment came out to the docking area from inside the palace accompanied by four guards.

"What have you done?" the man asked. "Where is Serreno?"

"Serreno is at Paru wasting his time playing games with his Jedi friend," said Tangren. "He won't get his prestige at all by the Empress. I'll receive all the glory."

"And that is why you are a cowardly fool. Always looking for an opportunity without a fight."

"And you are always the honorable one Gangren. That is why you are stuck here in the palace as the Empress' pet."

"Call me that again and I will cut you in half."

"Let me see you try."

"Enough!" yelled the voice of a woman.

It was the Empress as she made her way to the two Dark Lords wearing a long black dress accompanied by ten guards. The Dark Lords bowed on one knee, respecting her presence.

"Lord Tangren, where is Lord Serreno?" she asked. "He's supposed to give me the holocron."

"He is out to deceive the Jedi your highness," said Tangren. "He wanted me to return the holocron for him."

"Then he will not be gaining the prestige. Now let me see the holocron."

Tangren handed the Empress the holocron as she glared in satisfactory.

"So this is the holocron the Jedi have kept from me over all these years. Lord Gangren and Tangren, I want you two to gather the rest of the Sith Lords including Serreno."

"Yes your highness," the Dark Lords said.

"Now if you'll excuse me."

The Empress made her way back to the palace with the guards leading her inside.

The Dark Lords got back to their feet and looked at each other out of spite then went their separate ways.

The Jedi Masters were accompanied to the Xena Capitol Building in a luxurious shuttle bus after a day's rest in the X-Republic Capital. They were set for their meeting with the Ministers.

"Master Tae, I know the force is with us but is it possible that the X-Republic will be convinced of our story?" asked Janice out of curiosity.

"Justice is blind as well as deceiving," he said, "But with enough evidence, we will be able to give the X-Republic lead. Even if all fails, we will at least warn them about the Empress' deception against both the Jedi Order and the Xenex Republic."

The shuttle bus docked to the Capitol Building as the Jedi made their exit and entered the Capitol Building being accompanied by City Officials.

Elissa and Jon swam their way to shore with a mission accomplished. Once they were on shore, the two made their way back to the shuttle. Inside the shuttle, the two found Catome studying on a tablet in the main hold. She turned to them and smiled.

"I see the two of you managed to capture the crystal," she said. "The force was with you."

"Yeah, we found an ancient Sith vessel in the depths of the ocean after we encountered a large sea creature," said Elissa.

"Interesting, it must have been from the Old Republic Era thousands of years ago."

"I believe it was."

"So while we were out on our scavenger hunt, were you guys able to repair the shuttle?" asked Jon.

"Well Winthro rebooted the system while DW3 and M-136 were able to fix the repulse converters," Catome responded. "We should be leaving off this rock in a moment. We're just going to have to be very evasive when leaving. I sense Serreno is baiting us another trap."

"I would've thought Serreno would be back to the Kingdom by now," said Elissa.

"Darth Serreno is overconfident and deceptive. The holocron is gone, I know the Empress has it."

"So what do we do now?" asked Jon.

"We have no choice but to try to capture the Dark Lord himself."

"Serreno was the one that got us in this predicament in the first place," said Elissa, "Do you really think this is a good idea to try to go after him?"

"Serreno is very deceptive but I know him all too well. We will leave shortly."

Inside Atalon Station, Serreno stared below at the oceanic planet through a glass window. His arms were crossed as he let out a smirk.

"You can hide Catome but running is not your advantage at this point," he said, "I will soon take you out for good. Or at least it'll slow you down for the moment."

A comm link on his wrist suddenly beeped as he pressed the button.

"What is it now Tangren?" he wondered.

_"As much as I think it's amusing to see you foolishly play games with your Jedi companion, you need to come back to Etalon for a mandatory meeting with the Empress. All the Dark Lords in the Kingdom are expected to come."_

"Then I will be there."

_"Don't keep the Empress waiting Serreno. We all know that she lacks patience."_

Serreno immediately cut the comm link of and turned to the first person of lower class he saw.

"You slave," he said pointing to a young man of long black hair. "Prepare me a shuttle at once."

"Yes my Lord," said the young man bowing. The young man walked towards the direction where the docking bay was as Serreno stared in a malevolent way.

"I will be there at the meeting to see the look on everybody's faces when they discover the Jedi's little secret. But first I need to work on throwing Catome off the map. I'll let one of my acolytes handle my light work."

Serreno chuckled and walked towards the docking bay.

The Jedi Masters made it inside the Capitol Building and were met up with Ambassador Elam and a few security guards.

"Master Jedi the Ministers are waiting," said the young man.

The Ambassador and the security guards led the Jedi to an elevator and were set to go down to the lower levels.

"So how was your stay thus far here on Xena?" the Ambassador asked.

"It was pleasant for us all," said Tae. "Although we were a bit confused about night and day here on this world."

"Usually you'll see a bright aurora that lightens the sky such as the aurora you see that lasts for 6 hours. The days on this world doesn't last very long here because the planet is far from its' sun."

"But that's the uniqueness of this planet," said Janice. "No other world in the entire galaxy would have such a shine such as this that's farther from its' star. I can see why the X-Republic chose Xena as the Capitol although it has the thin atmosphere."

"Right you are," said Ambassador Elam. "The Xenex Republic chose this world due to its' unique structure. This world is known for its' crystals founded by two explorers. The foundation of this world made the monarchs during the time of the Old Republic even richer and that was when the X-Republic was born. We take great pride in this city and we treat all civilians who live here and all throughout our systems equally. The X-Republic believes in justice like the Jedi, but in some situations we must stay neutral."

The elevator stopped and opened as Ambassador Elam led the Jedi masters to a room. Surrounding them was a massive hallway with marble floors and windows swarming around that gave a beautiful site of the planet.

The security guards swarmed Ambassador Elam and the Jedi Masters as they entered the room. The Jedi were in shock because what they thought would be a conference room, they ended up in a courtroom full of fancy dressed people. The most shocking part of the situation was they saw a Commander of the Dark Kingdom standing at a bench far right from them.

"Something isn't right here," said Neuss.

"Alright order in the court!" yelled the judge. "The Case of The Jedi Order and The Dark Kingdom will now commence."

Catome entered the cockpit with Jon and Elissa behind her. Winthro was reading the system of the shuttle's diagnostics with the droids setting its' final touches.

"How is the ship's condition?" asked Catome.

"The system has rebooted thanks to our droid companions. DW3 managed to fix the converters and M-136 replaced the window of the cockpit. We'll be out of here in no time. So Elissa, ya'll managed to get the crystal?"

"We managed to get it in one piece," she said. "Thanks to Jon's street smarts."

"Oh stop it," said Jon in sarcasm. "It's thanks to your skills with the force."

"Can I see?" Winthro asked.

"Sure," said Elissa, "Jon, do you have the crystal."

"Of course, it's in my pocket."

Jon pulled out the shinning clear crystal and hand it to Winthro. He gazed at the beauty of the crystal's structure and was in bewilderment.

"Wow, it's amazing that a crystal like this could attract such a force. It's no wonder the Sith built Atalon Station here."

"Well we got what we came here for so now we need to get out of this rock," said Jon.

"Jon is right," said Catome. "But first we need a plan to avoid the Kingdom's fleet while going after Serreno."

"Too bad we only have one shuttle but I think I have a plan to outsmart this guy," said Jon.

Serreno made his way to his vessel and flew into orbit outside of Atalon Station. He reached out for his comm link in the vessel's system to contact one of his acolytes that trained under him. A figure covered in cloth to hide the person's face appeared on the screen.

_"Yes my lord," said the person with the voice of a woman._

"Ventrass," said Serreno, "You are probably one of my skilled and most powerful acolyte I have ever trained. I want you to take care of my little Jedi friend here while I run my rounds with the Empress. Kill the others, but leave Catome and the girl alive."

_"It'll be done my Lord."_

"I am heading to the Haru System now, be ready."

_"By your will my Lord."_

The transmission ended as Serreno lingered his vessel above Atalon Station.

The shuttle managed to leave out of Paru's surface. The shuttle was on the far opposite side from where Atalon Station was located.

"So far so good," said Jon, "No sign of incoming fighters."

"Winthro, can you pick up Serreno's signal?" asked Catome.

"None at all, the tracker isn't picking up any signals."

"Then we better fly at a higher orbit so hopefully no one will detect us," said Jon.

"Good idea," said Catome.

The shuttle flew higher to the point where the planet was just a dot.

"Can you pick up a signal now?" Catome wondered.

"I'm getting warmer," said Winthro, "I'm getting warmer… I think I got him."

"Fly casual."

The shuttle flew nice and slow towards Serreno's signal. Atalon station was close by.

"This is risky," said Jon. "How do we know that's Serreno's Vessel?"

"I can sense him," said Catome.

"Yeah but how do we know we won't get caught by Imperial Forces?"

"The force is with us Jon, trust me."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

The shuttle continued to fly slowly avoiding Imperial Fleets of the Dark Kingdom. The more they were closer to their target, the closer they were to their unwanted enemies.

"We're getting too close," said Jon.

Imperial fighters came out of nowhere tracking down their presence.

"Incoming fighters!" yelled Elissa.

"Winthro set our speed to turbo," commanded Catome.

"Not good," said Jon.

The shuttle flew faster out of orbit as suddenly a red dot flashed ahead of them.

"Serreno!" yelled Catome, "Winthro, lock on to that vessel!"

Winthro followed Catome's command and locked on to Serreno's small shuttle.

"He's hitting hyper drive again," said Winthro.

"Follow his coordinates and punch it," said Catome.

Serreno punched the coordinates that led him to the Haru System and entered hyperspace.

With a quick reaction, Winthro entered the coordinates and followed Serreno's coordinates and had hit light speed without the Imperial fighters firing at them.

"That was a close one," said Jon, "Good job kid."

"We're not out of this yet," said Catome.

"We're heading deeper into Empress Territory," said Winthro.

"Then we better stay on our guards," said Catome.

Serreno got out of hyper space and ventured to the desert world of Haru. He was outside of orbit awaiting his foes.

The shuttle made its way to the Haru system following Serreno's Vessel.

"Where are we?" asked Jon.

"The Haru System," said Catome, "One of the Empress' slave worlds."

"We shouldn't be here. Aren't we on enemy territory?"

"I sense a trap."

"Then why are we here master? Apparently Serreno will leave us for dead."

"The force has guided us here for a reason. There is no turning back."

"Well, maybe the force made a mistake and you're following its' command like it demands for us to be trapped here to die."

"Never underestimate the force Jon. That is my next lesson to you."

"I have Serreno tracked," said Winthro.

"Follow him," said Catome.

Serreno's Vessel took off towards the planet with the shuttle following him. The chase led them inside Haru's thick and dry atmosphere. The crew chased Serreno throughout the air as Catome used the force to slow Serreno's ship down.

Serreno could feel his ship slowing down as he descended towards the ground that led to a dry valley. The shuttle easily tracked him down to the point where there was no escape.

At a hill-top, a figure dressed in red cloth that covered the person's body pulled out a missile launcher and aim the crew's shuttle. The person saw a clear shot and launched a missile towards it.

"Incoming missile!" yelled Winthro.

"I knew this was a bad idea coming here," said Jon in panic.

With the combination of Winthro's quick reaction to pull up the shuttle's shields and Catome's use of the force, the missile only gave the ship critical damage but it was enough to jam the system. The shuttle flew its' way down to the valley as Serreno smirked in pleasure.

"Now that my chore is out the way it's now time to handle some business."

The vessel flew out of the surface while the crew had no choice but to descend down to the dry valley to face another challenge.


	9. Chapter 9

Story 9

The Unearthing

The Jedi masters walked into the courtroom in astonishment as the ministers and the judge waited for them to approach the bench. The crowd stared at the Jedi masters as they walked through the aisle and approached the bench.

"Now that the Jedi are here we will begin," said the judge. "In the case of the Jedi Order vs. the Dark Kingdom of the Sith, the Dark Kingdom is charged with genocide, illegal distribution of weapons, and breaking the Treaty of Divergence. Commander Riggs how do you plea."

"Not guilty," said the Imperial Commander.

Everyone in the room watched in disgust with thoughts of the Imperial Commander lying in front of the court.

"You are under oath Commander so although you may tell your side of the story and the Jedi tell theirs, justice will prevail. That includes the Jedi Council as well. Now we will start the defendant's side of the story."

"Thank you your honor," said Commander Riggs. "As you can see the Jedi Academy have had a recent invasion. I am aware that Flesian Drones were used during the attack but I was unaware of weapon distributions for the Kingdom. Your honor, the Dark Lords can be rouges at times and I believe that Lord Serreno had his own agenda."

"So you're telling me that you had nothing to do with this attack and the Dark Lord planed this himself?" wondered the Judge.

"That is correct your honor."

"Is there anything more you have to say Commander?"

"I rest my case."

"Alright, which one of you will represent the Jedi Order?"

"I will, Master Tae of the Jedi Council."

"So Master Tae, you were there during the attack. What is your side of the story?"

"Your honor, surely if you know the Empress tactics then you know that this man has told a white lie. The Dark Lords of the Kingdom has power from the Empress but they cannot commit such an act without the Empress' approval. Surely all of you in the courtroom can see that not even a treaty can satisfy such a force that rules over power and greed. Your honor, I rest my case."

"Now Commander Riggs, what is your side on the weapons distribution?" questioned the Judge. "You already said you wasn't involved with the drones am I correct?"

"I was training my unit in Etalon at the time. The Empress told me what Lord Serreno has done to the Jedi Order and decided to send me here for this trial. That is all I know."

"That is a short story you're giving me Commander, I'm sure there's something you're not telling me."

"What more there is to tell? This was a rogue act by Dark Lord Serreno and that's why I am here to clear the case of any charges the Jedi has pressed on the Dark Kingdom."

"So I see. Master Tae, do you have you any evidence concerning the Empress being behind this plot of genocide to the Order?"

"As a matter of fact the Council and I dug through the scraps of the remaining drones and went through each of their memory chips stored in their system. Jedi Master Neuss here will be able to shed a little light of the evidence we have discovered."

"Very well," said the Judge. "Bring the evidence to me."

Neuss stepped his way to the podium and pulled out a rectangular computer chip and handed it to the Judge. The Judge commanded for a droid to enter the podium as suddenly a black oval droid rolled its' way to him. The Judge gave Neuss back the chip and gave him further orders.

"Now insert the chip in the E6 unit and it will be able to play your recording," said the Judge.

Neuss inserted the chip inside the droid. The E6 unit made a long humming sound indicating it was scanning the chip for identification. Suddenly the droid made a loud beep as the holo-recording appeared in front of the courtroom.

The recording showed Serreno and a huge beast like creature indicating it as a Flesian Raider standing beside him.

"Now that phase 1 is complete, I will soon complete phase 2," Serreno said. "The Jedi won't know what hit them. The Empire thanks you for your cooperation Trusk. We wouldn't be able to do this without you. Now that I have an army of these powerful drones the Jedi won't know what will hit them. They will soon meet their demise and I will be able to get a high prestige. The Empress will be most pleased."

"You have your end of the bargain," said Trusk. "Now we want our end of the deal."

"You will in due time. Just have patience, they won't know what will hit them."

The holo-recording suddenly stopped as everyone in the courtroom was at complete silence.

"I don't know what's going on here," said the Judge. "But we're going to get some answers soon."

In the dark surface of Etalon, Serreno's shuttle flew its' way to the palace at the top of the palace. The vessel landed on a platform that was a level below the palace. One of the Empress' personal guards stood waiting for the Dark Lord's presence as he made his exit out of his shuttle.

"Lord Serreno," said the guard out of respect, "The Empress is expecting you."

"So I hear. Take her to me."

"Right this way my Lord."

The guard led the Dark Lord to an elevator that took the two to the top of the fortress where the palace was located. Once they got to the second floor, the two sauntered towards the double doors and entered the palace. From there, they walked down a corridor that eventually led them to a wooden door. The guard opened the door and led Serreno to a fleet of stairs going down that led to a dungeon. Serreno was in wonder of where the guard was taking him. He wasn't the Empress' favorite child and protégé, but surely this couldn't have been a trap. After walking down a fleet of steps, the guard led Serreno down a dark corridor full of cavern walls and floors with torches lit on the walls. Around the area were cages and barbaric material the Empress used to torture and kill prisoners. At the end of the dark corridor was a door that led to another room. The guard stopped to give Serreno more instructions.

"My Lord, the Empress is waiting in her private chamber," said the guard. "It's right through this door."

"Then I will be on my way," said Serreno.

The guard left the corridor as the Dark Lord entered the door alone. He walked down the dark narrow hall that led to another door. He entered a room that was lighted by fire. Steel walls surrounded the Dark Lord with a marble floor.

Dark Lords Tangren, Gangren, Sadan, Evin, Midan, and Tatum were in one circle around the fire that lit the room. The Empress stood in the middle of the fire staring coldly at Serreno. The other Dark Lords stared at him with envy and hatred. A majority of the Dark Lords had pale skin, resembling their family heritage and feeding off the dark side. The only Dark Lords that were of regular, peachy skin like the Empress was Serreno, the fourth child born from the Empress, and Tatum, seventh child born to the Empress.

Serreno strutted into the room with overconfidence.

"It's about time you showed up Lord Serreno," said the Empress. "I was beginning to send a team of bounty hunters to capture you."

"Even bounty hunters wouldn't be able to stop my power," he said. "I had to make sure the Jedi be thrown off track so they wouldn't foil our plan."

"I can careless of your petty schemes Lord Serreno but your overconfidence means your death. Now join the circle and be silent."

Serreno entered the circle lining between Dark Lords Evin and Sadan.

"Now that everyone is here we can now begin," said the Empress. "As you may know my child, your sister was taken by the Jedi. She has a special gift and the Jedi has trained her over the years to use the force. Since the Jedi took my child in their scheme nearly two decades ago, I never knew the whereabouts of my daughter. Not until now. Thanks to Lord Serreno, I have the holocron of her training with the Jedi over the years."

"I also have the prestige of bringing you the holocron your highness," said Tangren.

"Silence you fool!" shrieked the Empress. "I demand respect!"

With a heart full of fear, Tangren stood in silence.

"And now to witness what the Jedi has hidden from me all these years," said the Empress.

She pulled out the holocron and used the force to let the icon float. The holocron burst out a holo-recording that showed a woman with a pony tail wearing custom Jedi robes holding a baby. With her was Jedi Elder Quran in the Jedi Enclave.

_"This baby, she is strong in the force,"_ said Quran. _"She would've been a great threat if she was trained by the Empress."_

_"She has a lot of her traits,"_ said the woman. "_She will be loved here in the Order and will trained to use the force the right and just way."_

_"Indeed she will and I believe I know the right person to train her."_

_"And who will she be assigned to and isn't she too young for the training?"_

_"She will one day learn the ways of the force but you and I both know who rightfully has the ownership of training this girl thanks to her act of bravery against Empress Tera."_

_With her senses coming together, she realized that it would be her to train the girl when she would get older._

_"I accept the responsibility and full claim of the child. She will be loved by me and my daughter."_

_"The force has guided you to embrace this child Kaleena. The child will do well under your wing."_

Suddenly the holocron had fast forward to five years in time until she reached to her teens as a padawan. The Sith Lords watched in shock and astonishment as the holocron soon came to an end.

The Empress used the force to bring the holocron back to her hand. She gripped the holocron and let out emotions with the instincts of her mother.

"I want the girl captured and brought here before me," the Empress said. "If one of you manages to capture her then you will gain the greatest amount of prestige and I will award the throne for you as prince. Now leave me."

The Dark Lords left the room to leave the Empress to grieve her missing and last child that she gave birth to.

The shuttle was in the midst of the dry valley of Haru. Everyone gathered in the main hold preparing for their next move.

"Well now what?" wondered Jon.

"There's no need for panic," said Catome. "The force is with us. Serreno has already given the holocron to the Empress. But with this move the Sith will draw their selves towards us. We will have to be on our guards, but Haru is a perfect place to get answers to the whereabouts of Serreno. It will be risky but we need to get some answers to the Empress' plots. We will need to split up in two pairs. Elisa, you will come with me to Haru's Capital City Legna. I believe we were provided with land speeders in case of situations like this. Jon, you and Winthro stay on the ship with the droids. Winthro, I want you to do like last time and check the status of the shuttle. I'm sure it's in critical condition."

"I'll be on it right away," said Winthro.

"As for you Jon I have more training for you."

"I wonder," said Jon.

"Come with me," said Catome.

She led him into the cargo hold to give him another lesson of the Jedi ways.

"So what will you teach me master?" asked Jon. "I thought you would send me off on another mission instead of Elissa."

"This mission is too dangerous for you. Your training is far from complete and this world is inhabited by Dark Jedi and Imperial Soldiers. This world is too much for you. We have to send our best on this mission. But your next training revolves around knowledge."

"Knowledge? What, you're going to give me some lessons? Maybe some personal lessons?"

"We have no time for games Jon. Now to become a skilled Jedi in combat, a Jedi must be wise and learn the code and history of our Order. In here, I have a tablet for you to study the Jedi Code as well as a holocron I retrieved from the Temple of Knowledge at the Enclave for you to learn the entire history of the Jedi Order. You will study the tablet then go through the entire holocron. After you finish, you will be tested. If you pass, you will be ready for your next training.

"Wait a minute, I have to read an entire tablet based off of the Jedi Code and then you want me to look at an entire holocron then take a test of my knowledge of this crap?"

"You underestimate your abilities Jon. When Elissa and I return from our mission, let me know when you are done."

"Wait, how long will all this take me?"

"As long as you make it. May the force be with you."

Catome grabbed the land speeder in the corner of the cargo hold and was ready to make her exit. Jon watched on as he prepared for his long lesson provided for him.

Elissa stood near the exit finding Catome preparing the speeder for takeoff.

"The droids are working on the ship and Winthro is working on the diagnostics of the shuttle," said Elissa.

"Very good," said Catome. "Come, we better not waste any time. We will have to hide our lightsabers and blend in the crowd. Watch out for any stragglers."

Elissa flipped switch as the door of the shuttle opened. Catome hopped on the speeder along with Elissa as they immediately took off. The speeder raced across the dry valley while enemies from a distance watched them through a scope.

"That's the ones Lord Serreno wanted to spare," said Ventrass. "Leave them to me. Trinna, you kill the rest of their crew on the shuttle."

"I will prove my worth to you my master," she said wearing a black cloth to cover her body.

"Killing two worthless foes means nothing to me just get the job done. Carn, Barren, come with me. It's time that we capture our foes."

"Yes master," the two Dark Jedi said.

"We must waste no time."

The trial was now crucial as the holo-recording from the Flesian Battle Drone changed the entire course. Commander Riggs was now under pressure as he had a blank look on his face. Everyone in the court room whispered among each other as the judge yelled for order.

"We will have order in the court!" yelled the judge. "So we all know thus far that Dark Lord Serreno infiltrated the Jedi Enclave and had help by the Flesian Raiders. Explain the means of this Commander Riggs because what we've seen in the holo-recording was an act of violation of the treaty."

"Your honor, in the recording the droid captured was of the Dark Lord himself lining up an army of Flesian Battle Drones. Now I wasn't informed of this matter. The Empress had her own agenda and she used the Dark Lord to infiltrate the Jedi Academy for I don't know what reason. The Jedi fell by not an army, but one man! I rest my case."

"Master Tae, do you have a say to this?" asked the judge.

"The Sith has conspired this plot since the birth of the Empress' eighth child," said Tae. "Serreno used the Flesian Droids to infiltrate our sanctuary to retrieve one of our forbidden holocrons in the Temple of knowledge. Even if Commander Riggs here is telling the truth, what the Sith has done was an act of violation of the treaty and I believe this conflict can be resolved if we all can make a truce which includes the Jedi Order, Dark Kingdom, X-Republic, and Flesians in one meeting. This is something the Minister of the X-Republic, the Flesian Leader, Empress Tera, including I must consider. I have nothing left to say."

Tae stood next to his Jedi companions in a calm state waiting for the judge's call.

"Master Tae has a point," he said. "What the Empress has done was an act of violation to the Treaty of Divergence rather Commander Riggs was involved with the Jedi attacks or not. Commander you are still a part of the Dark Kingdom and will have equal punishment if proven guilty. We will now take a recess until the Ministers and I make our final decision for this case. You are for now dismissed."

Everyone in the courtroom made their exit. The Jedi Masters followed the crowd except for Commander Riggs in which he felt uneasy for having to take the fall for the Empress. The situation for the Commander was now grey for him. If he was guilty, he would probably have the death penalty over a crime the Empress has done. However, if he was innocent, the Empress would execute him for failing to deceive the X-Republic and Jedi Order. His judgment was soon to come.


End file.
